When Worlds Collide
by exclamation
Summary: TommyJason. Tommy finds Jason unconscious in the woods. The Dino Rangers investigate, discovering a world where Tommy is Prince of Evil, Andros is the only good Ranger and Tori is a rebel spy. The Rangers must try to save the other world... and their own.
1. Prologue

A quick note: most of this story is set in the DT era with mentions of things that happened before that in the timeline. The story deals with two worlds. One world is the cannon universe, the other is an alternate universe where Tommy defeated the other Rangers and went on to become Prince of Evil. This prologue is set at around the time of Green with Evil to explain how the differences between the two worlds began.

This story will contain slash. It's a Jason/Tommy fic. There will also be mentions of Kira/Tori later. There will also be talk of torture, character death and other nastiness. This is Tommy with several years practice being evil! It's not going to be pleasant.

**Prologue Part 1: Alone in Darkness**

Jason sat alone in the corner of the cell. There was such feeble light that he could barely see his hand when he held it in front of his face. He hugged his legs to himself in an effort to keep warm, but it didn't stop him shivering on the cold, stone floor.

His entire body hurt to varying degrees. Mostly it was just aches, but there were harsher pains where Green Ranger had struck him with the sword of darkness.

He could have killed him. Jason had watched him strike down the other Rangers, watched their powers give out under the assault. He'd watched as Green Ranger stole their power coins and used his sword to destroy them. He'd watched as Green Ranger blasted the town hall into fragments, saying that Angel Grove would have no need to govern itself in the future.

But with all that strength, Green Ranger had let him live and brought him here.

Why?

The Rangers had lost their powers; they were no threat to Rita or anyone anymore. They'd been unable to stop the latest wave of monsters that had subdued their city and then moved on to the rest of the world. Was it just to gloat? Was it so that Rita and Green Ranger could brag about their victory? Was it so they could kill him more slowly?

There was a noise in the darkness.

"Who's there?" Jason asked. He got to his feet, ready to fight if necessary.

"Jason?" a voice asked. Jason recognised it and struggled briefly to work out who it was.

"Tommy?"

**Prologue Part 2: Together in Darkness**

Tommy had been crying since Green Ranger had sent him back to the cell. Jason didn't ask what had been done to him. Whatever it was must have been worse than the usual beatings.

Maybe Green Ranger had a new form of torture prepared. If so, it wouldn't be long before Jason learned all about it.

For now, he just hugged Tommy close and waited. He'd never figured out why Green Ranger would keep Tommy as a prisoner, or why he'd let the two of them comfort each other. He couldn't help feeling that it was all part of some greater, evil scheme, but still he held onto Tommy's presence like a drowning man clinging to a rope. He didn't think he'd have coped so long without Tommy and he knew the other teen felt the same.

"Thank you," Tommy said after a while, "for being here."

"I'm not going anywhere," Jason answered. Even if they weren't trapped in a doorless cell, he wouldn't leave Tommy like this.

Tommy shifted. In the gloom, Jason could just about make out Tommy's face in front of his. Then Tommy leant in and kissed him.

**Prologue Part 3: Together in Lies**

Jason had been hurt badly in the last session with Green Ranger. Tommy comforted him with kisses and gentle touches tracing over his skin. In the dark cell, on the stone floor, Jason had given himself to Tommy.

Afterwards, as they lay naked and shivering in each other's arms, Jason whispered in Tommy's ear, "I love you."

The post-orgasm haze was broken instantly. Tommy tensed and then pulled away from Jason. Unable to comprehend what had just gone wrong, Jason sat up, reaching out but finding empty air where Tommy had been. It was too dark to even make out his shape.

"No, you don't," Tommy said. There was a strain in his voice.

"Yes, I do," Jason answered. "I don't know what I'd have done without you here. You've been a friend and a comfort and you've helped me through this hell. I love you, Tommy."

"You don't even know me."

"I know enough."

"You don't know what I've done. Without me, you wouldn't even be here!"

Then Jason did see something in the darkness. He saw two points of green light that flashed for a moment and gave a frail illumination to the face that held them. Tommy's eyes glowed green.

"I'm the reason all this is happening!"

And then Tommy had vanished in a green flash of teleportation.

**Prologue Part 4: Alone in Truth**

Jason couldn't believe it. This was some new trick, some way for Green Ranger to torture him. There wasn't the slightest chance the Tommy could really be...

Tommy had been so kind and gentle with him in the lonely cell. Green Ranger had been brutal. There was no way the two could be the same.

He huddled against the wall of the cell, having found his clothes and pulled them on. No sense lying here naked. Now he just waited because sooner or later either Green Ranger or Tommy would appear and then he'd be able to find out. One way or the other.

An explosion shook the entire cell. Jason flung himself sideways, wrapping his arms around his head to protect it as rock and fire fell around him. When the noise and the vibrations had stopped, he pulled himself to his feet, blinking at the sudden brightness of a hole. A way out. A way into stone corridors beneath Rita's palace, but still a way out of the cell.

He ran, wondering how this had happened, wondering if the other former Rangers were somehow alive and had managed to orchestrate a rescue.

The floor beneath him shook again as another explosion happened somewhere in the palace. Jason kept running. He wasn't sure quite where to, but he wasn't going to stop now.

A figure emerged from a doorway in front of him. The dark, monkey-like face rose from gold armour and the familiar monster barred his way, holding up a sword.

"You won't escape so easily, powerless Ranger," Goldar said.

Jason dodged the first swing of the sword, but Goldar struck him with a punch that sent him spinning down the corridor to land painfully on the floor. He just made out a pair of feet arriving between Goldar and his victim and a voice commanded, "You won't hurt him again."

**Prologue Part 5: Alone no More**

Jason's realisation on waking up was that he was warm. The second that he was lying somewhere soft. The third that there was daylight visible through his eyelids.

He opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital room. Trini was sat by the bedside, smiling down on him when she saw he was awake. She told him that they'd been taking turns to sit by him since he'd been brought here. By Tommy.

As the rest of the gang arrived, they asked him what had happened to him. They wanted to know how he and Tommy had escaped from Rita's prison. They wanted to know how it came to be that Rita was dead and the earth was free again.

Jason told them he didn't know. He told them about being trapped in the cell with Tommy but he didn't say what had happened between them. He didn't tell them about the bond that had formed between them or Tommy's startling revelation. He told them about the explosions and confronting Goldar and said that was as much as he remembered. He didn't tell them that Green Ranger had stood in front of him and acted as his defender.

He told them he needed to speak to Tommy alone and they fetched him.

Tommy looked pale and tired. His hair had gotten quite a bit longer since the last time Jason had had enough light to see him and it was now tied back in a ponytail. He sat by Jason's bed and said nothing.

"Why did you save me?" Jason asked.

"Because I love you," Tommy answered. "When you said those words, I knew you didn't mean them, couldn't mean them, because the person you thought you loved was just an act. But I wanted them to be true so badly. I wanted to be someone you could say that to without it just being a lie. I wanted so much to be the person I pretended to be, the person I used to be, that it broke Rita's hold over me."

"You killed Rita?"

"Yes. Goldar and some of her monsters got away but Rita's dead. The earth is free." Tommy stood he didn't meet Jason's eye. "After all I've done, I understand if you never want to see me again."

Jason looked up and saw someone who had risked everything in turning against his mistress. Tommy had had the world at his feet and he'd lain it aside, for Jason.

"Tommy," he said, "I love you."

**Prologue Part 6: Green Ranger's Return**

When the ship first appeared and the moon palace was rebuilt, people assumed it was Rita, that she hadn't really been destroyed. Then Lord Zedd made his announcement, broadcasting to every TV and radio in the world that Dark Spectre, supreme ruler of evil, demanded that the earth surrender Green Ranger. Lord Zedd would take Green Ranger to pay the penalty for his betrayal and the death of Rita, or the earth would be destroyed.

"We have to do something," said Trini.

"We have lost are metamorphosis capabilities," said Billy, "and our endeavours would be sure to be ineffective against any such armada of monsters as Lord Zedd is capable of producing."

"Without our powers," said Kimberly, "he's sure to beat us."

"Precisely," was Billy's response.

"We can't just sit here and wait for the earth to be destroyed," said Zack, "It may be a hopeless cause, but we've got to try and fight anyway."

"Or we give him what he wants," said Tommy. He was sitting with the others in the youth centre. He'd been accepted into the group after his apparent escape with Jason. Neither of them had said what had really happened, but the others all knew that Tommy was now aware of their identities as former Rangers.

"Like that's going to happen," Zack said, "No one's seen the Green Ranger since Rita was defeated. Even if we do find him, somehow, we've got no chance to beating him without our powers."

"Maybe you won't have to beat him," Tommy said.

"Tommy, no," was all Jason said. But Tommy was already standing and turning towards the door. Jason caught his wrist and said, "Don't."

"I have to. You wouldn't even be in this situation if it weren't for me."

"What are you talking about?" asked Trini.

Tommy hesitated, then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a large, gold coin. He showed it to the group and they understood, staring at the thing in horror and amazement.

"You don't have to find the Green Ranger," Tommy said, "because he's been right here all along." And then he turned and walked away. Jason found himself the focus of the other's stares.

"You knew!" said Zack, "Everything that bastard did and you'd sit there holding his hand! All this time, the guy we've hated, the guy who killed Zordon, was right by our side. And you said nothing."

Jason didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to respond, how to make them believe that it wasn't really Tommy. That the real Tommy, the guy he loved, had just walked out the door to hand himself over to Zedd.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

He was still alive. The fact somewhat surprised Jason. Sure, he ached all over and his head was pounded like crazy, but he was still breathing.

He'd been so certain that last night was goodbye. It was the only explanation for why a romantic meal and soft, gentle love-making would follow an angry outburst and a declaration that Jason would never interfere in his plans again. He'd closed his eyes in Tommy's arms and expected never to wake up again.

He opened his eyes.

He wasn't in Tommy's bedroom. He wasn't in his own either. He wasn't in the cells, which was a definite surprise. He was somewhere he didn't recognise. The walls and ceiling were of a slightly orange stone. He tilted his head slightly and saw bones in the walls and a symbol emblazoned on the rock. It was a representation of a three-toed print. The Dragonzord symbol.

"Hi. How are you feeling?" The voice was familiar, but the concerned tone wasn't. A figure came to stand beside where Jason lay and looked down on him with a face Jason knew so very well.

Jason wasn't quite sure how to answer. In truth, most of his body hurt, but the pain was nowhere near as bad as some he'd suffered and he wasn't about to complain when he was lucky to just be alive. He lived a hand to rub his throbbing temples.

At least, that was the idea.

His arm stopped short, prevented by a cuff around his wrist that held his right hand near to the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Tommy. An apology? That wasn't right either.

Maybe he had died. Maybe this was heaven; a kind, caring Tommy looking over him. But he wasn't quite sure why he'd still be a prisoner in heaven.

"Do you know how you ended up in the woods?" Tommy asked.

"What woods?" Jason managed. His head felt like it was stuffed full of something that was preventing his thoughts from getting through properly.

"The woods outside of Reefside. We found you unconscious a few miles from here."

Jason tried to remember but his recollections ended with him falling asleep in Tommy's bed. It had been so long since he'd even been outside the palace. Woods were a very surprising location for him to end up in.

"Dr O?" asked a girl's voice. Tommy patted Jason on the shoulder and then walked over to the girl, who stood at the bottom of a flight of stairs that led out of the room. Jason stared at her as she said a few quiet words to Tommy. If she were here, then this had to be an afterlife of some sort.

Tommy gave Jason one last glance, then he headed up the stairs, leaving Jason alone in the room with the girl.

"Hi," she said.

"Kira." He wasn't quite sure what else to say. He hadn't ever imagined having to confront those he'd seen getting brutally murdered. Was she angry at him? That he'd stood there and watched and not lifted a finger to help?

But she didn't seem angry. She just smiled and said, "Yeah, that's right," and helped Jason to sit up.

The handcuffs that attached his right wrist to the edge of the bed were the only restraints. Now sitting, he looked round at a room that looked like a cross between an archaeological site and a physicists lab. There was a computer with a huge screen and more input devices than just the keyboard. The screen was currently split into sections, three of them displaying a rotating Dragonzord symbol. He looked back at Kira, who stood slightly awkwardly by the bed.

"I'm sorry," Jason said.

"For what?" The puzzled expression looked genuine. Jason wasn't quite sure how to apologise for letting someone die, particularly when the person in question was standing right in front of him and apparently didn't remember.

He wished the pounding in his head would stop. It was so difficult to think. None of this was making sense.

Tommy came back down the stairs, a plate in his hand. The smell of bacon wafted towards Jason as Tommy walked across and placed the plate on the bed beside him.

"I thought you might be hungry," said Tommy. Jason lifted the plate and inspected the sandwiches. Bacon with a single slice of lettuce. One slice of bread buttered, the other with a thin coating of brown sauce. Bacon sandwiches precisely the way he liked them, cooked for him by Tommy. Tears pricked Jason's eyes at the sight of something so ordinary, and yet so perfect. It was a heart-rending image of what might have been.

This kind, caring Tommy couldn't possibly be real. This glimpse of compassion was just too painful, because Jason knew it would end and then the man he'd come to know would be back and his world would be full of suffering again.

The trace of humanity made Tommy a worse torturer than Rita or Goldar or even Dark Spectre could ever hope to be. He understood kindness, and he knew how to make it hurt. Soft touches in the dark designed to break his spirit when he realised he'd surrendered his most intimate self to evil.

"I haven't poisoned them," said Tommy, a slight grin on his face to indicate the joke.

Jason lifted one of the sandwiches and took a bite. He closed his eyes and chewed slowly, savouring the flavour and the gentle thought behind them. Even if this wasn't real, he could enjoy it for the moment. If this all turned out to be a dream or a hallucination, at least he would have had a good meal, personally cooked by someone he loved.

"Thank you," Jason said when he'd finished.

"You're welcome," Tommy replied, sat on a swivel chair in front of the computer having been watching Jason eat.

There was a short silence, then Tommy asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Jason," he replied, surprised and even more confused, which had hadn't thought would be possible.

"The thing is I've just talked to Jason on the phone. He's perfectly fine a few hundred miles from here and nothing remotely weird has happened to him for at least two months. So, who are you? Shape-shifting alien? Evil clone? Visitor from the future?"

"I'm just me."

"Which leaves us with two people who claim to be 'just you' and I have to say, the other Jason was more convincing."

Jason tried to get his muddled thoughts in order. Nothing made sense. This place was strange and the people in it weren't actually like they normally would. There was Kira, sitting down across the room and watching curiously, as though nothing had happened. As though Tommy hadn't murdered her.

"Have you got an aspirin? Maybe if this headache goes, I'll be able to think straight."

Tommy turned to Kira, "Bathroom cabinet," he said. She got up and headed for the stairs without a word. Clearly some things hadn't changed; Tommy was still the ruler.

"If you're really Jason, you won't mind answering a few questions. When did we meet?"

"A karate expo in Angel Grove. We fought. It was a tie."

"My favourite colour?"

"Green."

"OK, so that was another easy one. Where were we the first time we kissed?"

"Rita's prison shortly after you first became Green Ranger."

Tommy didn't say anything for a short while. He just stared at Jason. "That was a trick question," he said at last, "we've never kissed."

"We kissed yesterday."

"I haven't seen you since Christmas."

Kira returned to the room, a pill bottle in her hand, but Jason thought it was going to take more than an aspirin for him to make sense of this.

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Tori glanced round the corner to make sure there were no dark guards about. She had a mop in one hand and a bucket in the other, but she doubted anyone would believe she was cleaning if she was caught sneaking about this part of the palace. There was no sign of anyone, so she hurried across to the door, juggling the mop into the same hand as the bucket with some difficulty so that she had a free hand to turn the handle.

The door swung open to reveal the ornate bedroom of the Dark Prince's supposedly most faithful servant. The room was a pleasant prison, fitted with all the amenities a man could desire, barring the essential freedom. There was no sign of Jason.

Instead, sitting on the bed was a figure that made Tori draw a breath in terror. For half moment, she considered fleeing, but the Dark Prince looked up and saw her standing there. He was perched on the edge of the bed, an expression of sadness on his face. He didn't seem angry that Tori was here. He didn't even look like he meant to punish her for being where she shouldn't.

"He's gone," the Dark Prince said, "I've sent him somewhere I can never hurt him again."  



	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Tommy watched the person who looked so like Jason. The differences were obvious; longer hair and a whole lot more scars. There more subtle differences too. This man seemed scared whenever Tommy got too close. Most people probably wouldn't have noticed, but Tommy had been through enough battles with Jason to recognise the minute signals that showed when he was afraid.

But, from what he'd said, he thought the two of them were an item. Why would he be scared?

None of this made sense. If someone was trying to impersonate Jason or made a copy, they wouldn't have made such changes. If someone who looked like Jason turned up at his door, Tommy would have invited him in, probably down to the lab. He wouldn't have even thought about handcuffing him to a medical bed. So, if someone was trying to get an enemy close to him and had the ability to make another Jason, this wouldn't be the way they'd do it. So who was he?

He'd recognised Kira. That implied that he knew about the Rangers, which was evidence in favour of him being part of a plot to destroy them. But when Connor and Ethan arrived Jason, or whoever he was, didn't show the slightest hint that he knew who they were.

"So you were, like, a totally kick-ass Red Ranger?" asked Connor, too excited about the idea of meeting his idol to care that this was probably a trick.

"That was a long time ago."

"Yeah, but you kicked ass, right?"

"I don't want to talk about that," Jason snapped with uncharacteristic anger. That really wasn't like the real Jason. Jason was always keen to talk about the Rangers. They'd had a great many arguments, jokingly of course, about which of the pair had been the better Ranger.

Tommy told Connor to leave the issue. The red Ranger sighed and went back to kicking his soccer ball around, dangerously close to irreplaceable fossils. Ethan was busy on his computer, no doubt blasting alien spaceships in the latest game. Kira was strumming idly on her guitar, occasionally pausing to make a note of something on her pad. Tommy was at the main computer beside Hayley, helping her go over the results of tests done on Jason and the area he'd been found.

So far they'd come up with nothing.

The door to the tunnels began to rise. Tommy glanced at his watch. Trent must have closed up the Cyberspace for the evening; Tommy hadn't noticed that it had gotten this late. Sure enough, Trent walked into the lab.

Tommy didn't notice Jason start to move until he was on his feet, lifting the bed he was still cuffed to. The piece of furniture that had been intended to prevent him escape was now being swung as a weapon. Trent ducked as Jason swung the bed at him.

That first attempt was all he got. Tommy tackled Jason to the ground, the bed falling with a noisy thud and clatter to the hard floor. Jason struggled under his grip, but Tommy pinned him and wasn't going to let go. Not even someone who looked like a friend could get away with trying to hurt one of his students.

"Hayley, second drawer down on the right, there's another pair of handcuffs."

"Dr O, why do you have handcuffs?" asked Connor. Ethan shushed him.

"Best not to ask," he said in a stage whisper, "I don't want to know that much about Dr O's social life."

Tommy ignored them and took the cuffs from Hayley, locking Jason's wrists behind him. He stood clear and left Jason to struggle to a sitting position on the floor beside the fallen bed.

"Why are you defending him?" Jason asked bewildered.

"He's my student. Why are you attacking him?"

"He's the White Ranger!"

Tommy looked across at Trent, "You didn't do something while you were evil that you've forgotten to tell us about?"

"I've never seen this guy before in my life."

Tommy looked back to Jason, hoping for some sort of answer. Instead, he just got more confusion. "You mean," said Jason, "he's not evil now?"

"No. He's good."

"Then why are you helping him?"

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Kira walked with Trent through to woods, searching for the place where Jason had been found. Hayley had wanted someone to take some energy readings and it had seemed like a good idea to keep Trent away from the lab for a bit. Kira was holding the scanner that, thanks to Ethan, had become officially known as the weirdness detector.

"So, it's pretty obvious that's not the real Jason," said Kira, "so who do you think would send someone to attack you?"

"I've got three guesses: Mesagog, Elsa and Zeltrax."

"It's not Zeltrax."

"How do you figure that?"

"If Zeltrax had sent him, he'd have tried to kill Dr O before you even got there."

"That still leaves us with options one and two. But this doesn't seem quite their style. Do you think..."

"Hold on," Kira cut him off, "I'm getting something." The machine was beeping that it had detected an energy spike. Kira moved it around trying to get a location and then walked in the direction the beeping was loudest. "I really wish this thing came with an instruction manual."

The beeping became dramatically louder for a few seconds, then a bright light appeared in the air in front of them. Kira held the scanner out in front of her to take a reading, but then the light expanded into a wide sphere. Where the edge of the sphere touched the scanner, lines of energy started to stream from it down her arms and through her body.

She screamed and tried to let go, but her hands wouldn't release their grip on the handle. Then energy streamed around her and the force of it flung her backwards.

She landed hard on the floor and lay there painfully for a few seconds, trying to get her breath back and figure out what had happened. Then it occurred to her that the ground beneath her wasn't as rough as it should be. She looked around to find herself suddenly lying in what appeared to be a corridor. The scanner was beside her, but there was no sign of Trent. She didn't feel like calling out to him as the dark stone and creepy green lighting definitely filed this place under 'bad guy's lair'.

Her head was pounding like crazy and she wondered if she'd hit it when she'd fallen.

A girl came round the corner carrying a mop and bucket. She stared at Kira for a second then dropped both and ran to her side. Kira recognised the blond and wondered how the hell she'd come to be here. She'd settle for knowing where 'here' was.

"Kira," said the other girl, "I don't believe it."

"Tori?"

Tori grabbed her and pulled her into a fierce embrace. "I can't believe you're alive." 


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three **

"Come on," said Tori, helping Kira to her feet, "we don't want the guards to find us here."

"Where is here?" Kira asked, her head still throbbing too much for her to assemble a clear thought. She retained enough control to remember to pick up the scanner.

"The dark palace, of course."

Kira was able to walk alright. The fall would give her some bruises, but nothing worse. It was just her aching head that troubled her. Tori carried the mop and bucket, walking hurriedly down corridors, but pausing at turnings and side passages to check that no one would spot them. Kira was amazed that Tori could find her way; the corridors all looked much the same with dark stone walls and the only illumination coming from glowing, green spheres set into the ceiling.

At last, Tori reached a plain, wooden door and opened it, ushering Kira through. The room she entered was large, but still seemed cramped with rows of narrow beds jammed close together. It was filled with girls, the youngest looking about fourteen or fifteen, the older couldn't have been much older than twenty. They were all staring at Kira with such expressions of amazement that she wondered if she'd suddenly turned blue or something.

Then one of the girls, a pretty brunette, rushed forward and flung her arms around Kira in a hug that almost crushed the breath from her. Kira was fairly certain she'd never seen this girl before in her life.

That girl was just the first. As soon as she'd moved, loads of the others gathered round Kira, hugging her, patting her back, or just whatever part of her they could reach, as though they wanted to be certain she was really there.

"We thought you were dead," said the brunette, "the prince said you were dead. What happened? Was it the rebels? Did they save you?"

Before Kira had a chance to try and make sense of the girl's questions, Tori pushed through the crowd, moving the other girls away from Kira.

"Give her some air," Tori said, "Whatever happened, she's clearly still upset about it." She put an arm around Kira and guided her along the rows of beds to the far corner. Most of the other girls took the hint and went back to whatever it was they'd been doing, but the brunette tagged along, not giving up so easily.

Kira found herself sat down on an uncomfortable bed, a long way from the rest of the room's inhabitants, with Tori beside her and the brunette sitting on the bed across from them.

"Was it the rebels?" the brunette asked again. "What's that thing?" She nodded at the scanner. "Is it some kind of rebel transporter?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kira said, "I have no idea how I got here and my head is killing me."

"The prince caught you sending information to Andros and rebels," Tori said. "He made us watch while you..." She squeezed Kira's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. There wasn't anything we could do that wouldn't just get us tortured as well. I know Jason tried, but the prince was so angry. We thought he'd killed you. He said he'd killed you."

Kira tried to make sense of this. She remembered Jason's reaction to seeing her in the Dino Lab. He'd apologised for something. Had he been apologising because he'd thought he'd seen her die too? This didn't make any sense. Kira had never been here before. She didn't know these people. She certainly didn't know a prince or any rebels. She tried to explain this to the others.

"I don't remember being tortured or anything about this prince. The last thing I remember, I was in the woods with Trent scanning for strange energy readings." She gestured with the scanner, "Then some weird light hit me and I was here."

"Trent?" asked Tori, her voice dropping to an astonished whisper, "The White Ranger?"

"I thought he was evil," said the other girl, leaning forward and also lowering her voice.

"He was," said Kira. "Now he's good. It's really complicated."

"Did he save you?"

"That's what I'm trying to say; I don't remember needing saving. I have no clue what's happening here. I don't even know where here is. Look, yesterday, Dr O got some strange readings and went to investigate. He found someone who looked a lot like a former Ranger unconscious in the forest. I was trying to figure out where he came from and got zapped here."

"A former Ranger?" asked Tori, "You mean Jason?" She looked enormously excited by the prospect.

"Yeah. But he's not been acting like the real Jason."

"I just spoke to the prince," Tori said, "He said he'd sent Jason away."

"Away where?" asked the other girl.

"Somewhere he could never hurt him again."

"But Dr Oliver doesn't think it's the real Jason. He thinks he's some sort of copy."

"Oliver?" asked Tori.

"Yeah, Tommy Oliver." Kira saw the expressions of shock on the other two faces. "What?"

"Tommy Oliver is the Prince of Evil," Tori said.

"No, he's good. He's my teacher."

Tori looked across at the other girl, "Maddy, why don't you get Kira something to drink. She's obviously not well."

"I'm not an idiot," said the girl, Maddy, "You just want to talk secrets. But I've told you, if you're involved with the rebels then I want to help."

"Please, Maddy," said Tori again.

The other girl stood. "Fine, but I can help you. If I was going to talk I would have done so when I first figured what was really going on with you two." She stalked off.

Tori waited until it was certain she was out of earshot, then she turned to Kira and asked quiet and determined questions. "You have no memory at all of the Dark Prince? You don't remember him coming to Earth several years ago and declaring himself supreme ruler?" Kira just shook her head.

"I think we may be dealing with alternate histories," said Tori. "We were told about them at ninja school. Worlds that were the same up to a point where timelines divided. I think you're from an alternate universe."

"But how?"

"I think that's what the prince meant, about sending Jason away. Jason always said that the prince still loved him on some level. He wanted to make sure he wasn't going to hurt Jason, so he sent him a world where he's not evil."

Tori suddenly threw her arms around Kira and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"The others are watching us," Tori whispered in Kira's ear, "just play along." Then she pulled away from the hug slightly and instead tilted her head to kiss Kira on the lips.

It took all Kira's self-control not to just pull away and ask what the hell Tori was doing. Then something clicked in her brain. She remembered what Maddy had said about figuring them out and all the talk of working with rebels. Tori and Kira pretended to be lovers so that they'd be given privacy to discuss their secrets.

Tori broke the kiss.

"Sorry," she said, "I take it we've not done that where you're from." Kira shook her head.

"If you really are from another history, there must be a way for you to get back. But it's really not safe for you to stay here. If the prince sees you, I don't know what will happen."

"But where would I go?"

"We've got to try to get you to the rebels. Andros will know you're on our side and he's got some great minds working for him. They might be able to get you home. Who knows, maybe someone if your timeline will want to help us."

"Of course we will. If your earth's ruled by evil, it's our duty as Rangers to help."

Tori blinked in surprise. "You... You're a Ranger?"

Kira nodded, "So are you. Or at least you were. You've lost your powers."

"Andros is the only good Ranger in this world. Green Ranger destroyed the power coins of the earth Rangers. He bombed Aquitar so badly for refusing to surrender their Rangers that most of the planet is now uninhabitable. He killed the Triforian Rangers and he tortured to death the Astro Rangers, apart from Andros and Zhane who managed to escape."

"But there have been loads of different Rangers: Zeos, Turbos, Lightspeed Rescue."

"Not here," Tori said, "Here the only Rangers left are Andros, the prince and the White Ranger."

"But if you're not a Ranger, what are you doing here for the rebels?"

"I'm a spy. The rebels needed someone on the inside. I'd graduated a ninja academy at the time the prince was calling for his next tribute."

"Tribute?"

"Of slaves. Every two years, all the planets he rules have to hand him young, attractive girls to be his slaves." She muttered under her breath, "Creepy pervert."

This couldn't be Dr O she was talking about. Tommy Oliver wasn't that uncommon a name, right? The prince she kept talking about just happened to share a name with her teacher. There was no way that Dr O, in any universe, could be that creepy.

"Anyway, I volunteered and you. you wanted to come with me." Kira heard the sadness in Tori's tone and wondered if the lovers thing was entirely an act.

"So, how do I reach the rebels?"

"We'll have to send them a message. There are various devices hidden around the palace. We use them to record information, which gets broadcast to Andros the next time the prince calls someone, to hide our signal. The best one to use is probably the one in Jason's bedroom. But we'll have to wait until everyone else is asleep."

"OK." Kira was still trying to make sense of this. There was so much to take in and her head was pounding like crazy. The sooner she got back to Reefside the better. She didn't want to think about an evil Dr O, or a universe without Rangers.

"Tell me," said Tori, "what's your earth like?"


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Tommy's face bore an expression of cold anger that was much more like the man Jason knew. He was glaring at Jason, who was still sitting on the floor, wrists cuffed to the fallen bed. His arms and ass were beginning to ache now, but this was clearly not the right moment to ask if he could move to a more comfortable position.

"Where is she?" Tommy demanded.

"I don't know," Jason replied. Trent had signalled a few minutes ago, saying that Kira had disappeared. Tommy and the woman he'd introduced as Hayley had run detailed scans on the wood and had repeatedly tried to call her communicator. But there'd been no response.

The conclusion appeared to be that Jason had set this up.

"I don't know where she is any more than I know how I ended up here."

"I'm not buying that. You show up here disguised as my friend and make one of students disappear. You are going to give me answers."

It was strangely comforting to see the menacing expression on Tommy's face. No matter how bizarre everything else might be, at least some things were the same as always. Now Tommy leaned over Jason, glaring fiercely and Jason almost smiled at the sight. But that wouldn't go down well, no matter what might be different.

"Before I woke up here, you found out I'd been hiding a spy in the palace. You lost your temper and attacked me and told me that I'd never interfere with your plans again. Then we had a very pleasant evening that I assumed was your way of saying goodbye before you killed me. I fell asleep in your bed and then the next I knew, I was here."

"In your bed?" asked Connor, smirking, "Something you want to share with us, Dr O?"

"Focus, bro," said Ethan, "Kira's missing and there's an evil impostor in the lab."

"Right."

"This act is not fooling anyone," Tommy said, still glaring at Jason. At least he hadn't gotten the torture implements out yet. "Tell me who you are."

"I'm Jason! I'm your lover! I'm your damn slave!" Those words got some sort of reaction out of Tommy. He stepped backwards slightly, looking shocked and puzzled more than angry. Jason wished his head would stop pounding long enough for him to get a grip on the situation. Then the anger returned and Tommy grabbed hold of Jason's shoulders, leaning down so their faces were close enough for Jason to feel his breath.

"Tell me the truth!" Tommy demanded.

"Maybe he is." A new voice joined the discussion. It was Trent, returned from the woods. "Maybe what we're dealing with here is alternate universes, a different version of history where you never stopped being evil. The entire world could be different but someone from the other world would assume that their memories of the past are the correct ones."

There was sense in that. Clearly the others thought so too. Tommy let go of Jason and looked across at Hayley, who gave a shrug.

"It's possible," she said.

"How do you know this stuff?" Connor asked Trent.

"Just about every comic book series ever written has used the idea at least once."

"So that would mean Kira's in your world," Ethan said to Jason.

"Or another," Trent suggested, "If there are two universes, what's to stop there being three or four or a hundred?"

"Let's start by dealing with the possibility of two," said Tommy, "I don't want to have to start searching infinitely many dimensions. Hayley, do you think you could use the energy readings we've collected to get a signal through to Kira?"

"If the energy readings are creating some sort of interference, maybe."

"Good. Get started. At least then we'll be able to find out if she's alright. Contact anyone you think might be able to help; I should know enough people in high places to pull any necessary strings."

"What about us?" asked Connor.

"Go home and rest up. If we really are dealing with an evil version of me, we might have a hell of a fight on our hands to get Kira home."

"You were really that bad when you were evil?" Trent asked.

"I was really that bad and this other version of me has had about a decade more practice than I had. I need you guys to be at full strength."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trent went straight through to his dad's study when he got home, not surprised to be greeted with a: "You're late."

"There was a problem at Dr Oliver's." Despite all the difficulties, he was still glad that his dad knew about the Rangers because it meant he didn't have to worry about thinking up excuses like the others did. Although, rationally, he knew that without his dad's reason for knowing about the Rangers, he wouldn't have a reason for being one.

"What kind of problem?" His dad looked surprised. No doubt he thought that Mesagog was the cause of all Dr O's difficulties and knew that there hadn't been any new monsters today.

Trent wondered how much he should say. He also wondered how the hell he'd explain his information source to the others if his dad did know anything. But he decided the risk was worth it if this could help get Kira back. Hayley wasn't the only person in Reefside who knew a thing or two about manipulating dimensions.

"Do you know anything about alternate universes and other realities?" Trent asked.

"No, I can't say that I do."

"Oh." Trent couldn't hide his disappointment. "I thought maybe you did, since Mesagog created the invisiportal network."

"I don't know everything Mesagog knows. I wouldn't want to, since that would mean he'd know everything I knew. We share a mind, but we're separate entities."

"Do you think he might know how to open a portal to another universe?"

His dad was quiet for a time. "I don't know," he said at last, "but if he does know, there's no way he'd ever use that knowledge to help you and Tommy."

That wasn't the answer Trent had been hoping for, but he guessed it was the best he was ever likely to get. Mesagog would never help the Rangers find Kira. He'd hoped his dad's unique relationship with the monster might give him some insight, but apparently not.

"Would Mesagog have any information about this on a computer or something in his lair?"

"Don't even think about it!" his dad ordered, "Mesagog wants you dead. If you go into his lair, you'll be captured and killed. I'm not going to let that happen to you."

"But if you're here, that means Mesagog can't possibly be on the island. I can handle Elsa or Zeltrax long enough to get away if they find me there."

"No! I absolutely forbid it. Being a Ranger is one thing, but I can't sit back and let you walk into a death-trap."

"But, Dad, it's Kira."

His dad hesitated, but only for a fraction of a second.

"There has to be another way," he said.  



	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five  
**  
Tori crept between the rows of sleeping slaves, Kira a step behind her. No one stirred. If anyone noticed someone moving about who shouldn't be, they pretended not to. Everyone was too scared to want to see someone misbehaving. They ignored anything out of place in the hopes that they would get through another day, another week, maybe even another month and still be alive.

They reached the doorway and opened it a crack, the green light from outside casting strange shadows over the sleeping girls. Tori slipped through into the silent hall, and Kira came after her. No sign of anyone. No sounds of any approaching guards. Tori set off down the hallway, then she heard the unmistakable sound of a door opening.

She glanced behind, terrified of what she might see. But it was only Maddy, slipping out from the slave quarters behind them.

"Go back to bed," Tori hissed in a whisper.

"I want to help," was Maddy's whispered reply. Madison was always so determined she wanted to help out the rebels, but she'd never had any training. She wouldn't know how to fight and Tori couldn't be certain she'd be able to avoid talking if she was captured. Tori knew what the prince could do to his victims. Maddy might be brave but that wouldn't be enough.

It hadn't been enough for Cam.

"Three of us are more likely to get caught than two," Tori said. "You can help by keeping yourself safe."

She wasn't sure why she wanted to protect Maddy so badly. Sure, she wanted to protect all the girls who were prisoners here, but if one of the others had found out about her being a spy, Tori might have accepted their help. But not Maddy. Quiet Maddy, who spent all her time watching, who never joined in what meagre fun they could manage here. She watched Tori with an unfathomable sadness that stirred up every one of Tori's protective instincts.

"We don't have time to argue," Kira said, "Thanks for your offer, but I'm not sure what help you'd be able to be anyway. You'd just be putting yourself at risk for no reason."

"I have my reasons."

"Please, Maddy," Tori said, "go back to bed."

Maddy looked at her, brown eyes looking, as they so often did, like they were about to fill with tears. Then she nodded and she opened the door to the slave quarters again.

Tori set off quickly through the corridors, trying not to think of the expression on Maddy's face. The other girl had to know it wasn't rejection or it wasn't because Tori didn't trust her. It was just because Tori didn't want to lose someone else. She'd watched her Kira getting tortured and beaten, she'd seen Cam so bruised and bloody that he'd barely been able to move and she wasn't sure she could face it again with Maddy.

Kira kept pace well, moving silently down the green corridors. In the silence of the night, Tori often felt like she was moving underwater. She wouldn't have been completely surprised to round a corner and see a fish swimming through the green light.

She told herself to stop being silly. She ought to be listening for any signs of guards, not letting her imagination run away with her.

They reached Jason's bedroom without meeting any guards. Tori opened the door and let them both inside.

"Nice," breathed Kira, taking in the huge, soft bed, the lush furnishings and the widescreen TV.

"Doesn't change the fact Jason was as much a slave as the rest of us."

Tori got down on her stomach and slithered under the bed. She reached the wall and started to pry at the skirting board, managing to slightly shift the loose piece of wood opening a tiny, dark crack. Squeezing a couple of fingers into the hole, she found the bend piece of metal that look so innocuous that just happened to be the key to the compartment where the communicator was hidden. They'd gone to great lengths to protect their devices and still she knew that the prince had discovered most of them. Some he removed, others he left in the hopes of trapping any more spies. But he'd never guessed the rebels would have one hidden under his lover's bed.

"Well, isn't this interesting."

Tori's heart froze at the sound of the familiar voice. Hardly daring to breath, she pulled her legs closer to her to make sure she was completely hidden. She shifted as carefully as she was able to look out from under the end of the bed towards the now open door. She could make out two pairs of feet. One pair belonged to Kira, the other, no doubt, belonged to the prince.

"I was sure I killed you," continued the prince's voice. He sounded more amused than angry, but that didn't bode any better for Kira.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Kira sounded way too cocky. Tori silently begged Kira to, well, beg. Anyone who showed even a hint of confidence in standing up to him didn't stand a chance.

"Aren't you scared of me?" the prince asked. He sounded slightly entertained at the prospect. That was the worst possible sign. The only way someone survived round here was by being so insignificant the prince wasn't aware they existed. Now not only had he noticed Kira, he'd been intrigued by her defiance.

Tori wondered what the hell she should do. She couldn't signal to Kira without the prince seeing. He didn't seem to know she was here. If she tried to advise Kira, or help her in any way, it would just mean the end for both of them.

"I'm not scared of anything," Kira said. No. No. No! Really the wrong answer.

Tori saw the prince move closer to Kira. His voice had dropped to a quieter tone. "I can make you afraid. I can make you so scared and lonely that you'll crave my touch because it's the only comfort you'll ever know. Even I make you want me even as you hate me."

"Get your hands off me, pervert!" And there came the unmistakeable sound of a slap. Tori winced at the sound.

Her view of the room was very limited, but she saw Kira's feet leave the ground as she was flung across the room. She heard the crash as Kira struck the wall and then she tumbled. Kira lay for a moment on the carpet. For a second, her eyes met Tori's. Tori tried to mouth at her to give in, but either Kira didn't understand, or she didn't care.

Kira's expression was one of resolve and she got to her feet again.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up. Ha!" There was a flash of yellow and Kira's shoes were replaced by boots, what Tori could now see of her legs were covered in yellow.

"Well," said the prince, quite definitely amused now, "this could get interesting. Dragonzord!" There came a flash of green.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maddy could hardly believe her eyes when she saw Kira morph. Yellow appeared from nowhere, flying in to surround her until she was completely covered by Ranger armour. A Ranger, here in the dark palace, challenging the prince in his own ground.

Maddy stood in the corridor outside Jason's bedroom, watching through the door as the prince accepted the challenge, his own Ranger armour appearing at his command. Maddy wanted to start cheering as Kira leapt, kicking Green Ranger full in the chest with both feet. But that barely phased him. He grabbed her feet before she could recover and he twisted so she ended up falling face first to the ground.

Not going to be stopped that easily, Kira was back on his feet in a moment. She ran at the prince, hitting him repeatedly, or at least trying to. The prince blocked each strike almost casually, then he slammed a hand into her chest and sent her stumbling backwards. The prince gave little, derisive laugh.

"That all you got?" he jeered.

"Not by a long way." Kira pulled out of apparently nowhere some yellow weapons that looked a bit like pterodactyl jaws. She ran into another attack, but Green Ranger dodged and block and then sent her sprawling with a powerful kick. Out of its sheath at his side, he pulled the dragon dagger. He stepped forward as Kira was getting back to her feet, and he brought the dagger down across her chest, a line of bright energy knocking her sprawling again.

Kira grabbed a gun from somewhere, firing laser blasts. A glow emanated from Green Rangers shield and the lasers bounced off. He laughed at the attacks ricocheted, burning into the walls and floor.

"I was hoping for more of a fight than this," he mocked.

"You've got it!" Tori had crawled out from under the bed, but the two Rangers had been too busy with their fight to notice. Now she grabbed the large TV screen from the side and swung it at Green Ranger's head. It shattered in a mass of glass and circuitry, but the prince didn't seem to care.

"This should be fun," he said, as Tori took up a fighting stance on the other side of him from Kira.

"Super Dino Mode!" yelled Kira, spikes appearing on her costume and wings forming under her arms.

The two girls leapt into the attack together. Green Ranger appeared to barely notice Tori, but he was definitely feeling Kira's strikes now. Maddy wondered if she should go in there and help them, but the other two seemed to have things under control.

Or not.

Green Ranger brought the dagger to his slips and the eerie music began. A blast of energy shot from the dagger, causing an explosion at the feet of the two girls, powerful enough to shake the palace. Maddy watched in horror as Tori and Kira were flung backwards by the explosion. Kira hit the wall, her armour shattering with the impact, and then she tumbled to the floor.

Green Ranger gave another little laugh, raising his dagger to finish the job.

Kira and Tori just lay there, too shaken for the moment to prevent the killing stroke.

"I believe in magic!" Maddy yelled, not even pausing to wonder if this was a good idea. Water appeared from nowhere all around her, blasting towards Green Ranger with more force than a fire hose. Green Ranger stumbled under the unexpected assault then he turned towards her. His face might have been covered by his mask, but Maddy had no doubt he saw her and would immediately recognise her the next time they met.

He walked towards her, pressing against the flow of water that should have been enough to knock a man down. Tori and Kira were scrambling to their feet, running towards Maddy.

"I said I could help," Maddy said. With one last burst of effort, she forced enough strength into the stream of water to make Green Ranger stumble to his knees.

Then the three girls were running through the corridor. The prince would be right behind them and he would not be happy.

Maddy reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand.

"Is that a cell phone?" asked Tori.

"Kind of," Maddy said, pressing buttons.

"And you have signal here?"

Maddy held the phone to her ear and heard a familiar voice through, "Maddy? Are you alright?"

"I need my emergency exit now!"

"We'll have the spell ready in a few seconds," Nick said.

The girls stopped running, their path blocked by figures that appeared to be made up of absolute darkness. The dark guards. They stood there, humanoid shapes make of total blackness, featureless and terrifying. Incapable of mercy or compassion, they were creatures whose sole purpose was death.

"Did you think it would be that easy to get away?" the prince had appeared behind them, still in his Ranger form.

Maddy glanced at her phone, silently begging Nick to hurry.

Kira screamed. The sound tore at Maddy's eardrums, but that was nothing compared to what it did to the prince. The sound struck him with solid force, knocking him backwards. He was not put off though. His hand moved in a complicated gesture across his chest and a ball of energy formed from his shield. He brought his hands forwards and the energy shot towards the girls.

Tori grabbed Maddy in an effort to shield her from the blast but the two were still flung along the corridor, smacking painfully into a wall. Kira was hit full on, flying down the corridor for several metres, landing with a sickening thud and then lying still. Maddy stared, desperately hoping for some sign of movement, but there was none.

Then the dark guards were surrounding Maddy and Tori, their hands raised. In front of their palms, dark energy was gathering, each point like a miniature thunderstorm of swirling blackness. Maddy knew that a single touch of that energy would cause death. But not immediately.

Her phone beeped at last and she glanced at it, seeing the glowing buttons of a ready spell. Maddy gave Kira one last glance, then she grabbed Tori's arm and pressed the buttons. The palace corridor vanished around them just as the dark energy struck the place they'd been.

For a moment, Maddy felt like she was floating, then her feet stuck the ground and she was standing in the familiar sanctuary of Rootcore.

She took in the sight of the familiar faces ready to welcome her home. Nick, Xander and Chip, Claire already hugging her in greeting, Udonna smiling at her return, even Leelee and Phineas. It was almost tempting just to break down in tears at the sight of so many who meant so much to her.

"Where's Kira?" Tori pulled free of her grip.

"I couldn't reach her in time," Maddy said.

"But she might still be alive. We have to go back."

"The spell only works one way," said Nick.

"There's got to be some way back!" Tori said. There were tears in her eyes. "Don't you undertand? She's a Ranger! That prince doesn't just kill Rangers, he destroys them, he makes sure that they'll never be a threat to him even if they live a hundred years. He'll make her like Zhane!"


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six  
**  
Trent had barely slept. He'd spent most of the night running plans around in his mind, trying to think of some way that he could get into Mesagog's lair and find out of he knew anything that might help. But even when he'd been evil, Mesagog hadn't really trusted him. Trent hadn't been given full access to the computer system, so now he didn't even know if what he wanted was on there, much less how to find it.

Now, he headed into school, wondering how the hell he was supposed to concentrate on lessons. At least they had science first thing.

Trent found Connor and Ethan in the classroom, talking in low voices.

"Heard anything from Dr O?" Trent asked. Connor shook his head.

"Zip," said Ethan, "but Hayley sent an email to the Cyberspace mailing list saying that due to an unforeseen accident, the café would be shut for an unknown period of time." That was something. If Hayley was at the lab working on the problem, they were bound to find Kira. It wasn't going to do Hayley's finances any good though; the Cyberspace barely made a profit as it was.

Dr Oliver entered the room and a hush fell across the class. He proceeded to give a fairly distracted biology lesson on how the body combated disease. He looked like he hadn't slept either, and everyone in the room had noticed. Particularly when he gave the same point on white blood cells five times. Trent heard muttered comments about how Dr O was clearly trying to give them an accurate example of illness.

Trent's notes probably made less sense than what Dr Oliver was saying. His mind kept wandering and he was constantly distracted by the empty seat where Kira should have been. They couldn't even be sure she was alive, and yet here they were, trying to act like everything was normal. Trent wished they could tell the world that they were Rangers, so they wouldn't have to keep up the pretence. If everyone knew, no one would mind if they wanted to spend the entire day in the Dino lab. Although Trent knew, realistically, that he'd been as frustrated and helpless there as well.

At last, the lesson came to an end and most of the students left the classroom. Cassidy paused to try and get a brief interview on whether Dr O thought that stress and workload had a bad affect on teachers' health, but even she was persuaded to go to her next lesson.

"Have you found anything?" Connor asked, the instant the Rangers were the only ones left in the room.

"Not a trace of her," Dr O answered, "Hayley's still working on trying to boast our scanners to get a signal from her communicator. She's trying to rig something up with the invisiportals to hopefully get access to other dimensions. I'm sure she'll figure something out." But he didn't sound particularly sure.

"Look, you guys should head to your next class," Dr O went on, "come by the  
lab as soon as school's over and we'll see what else we can do."

So Trent sat through his lessons, barely hearing a word. Three different teachers told him off for not paying attention, but Ethan and Connor were doing no better. A couple of people commented on Kira's absence, but they were happy to assume that she was down with some bug that was going round. Time crept by impossibly slowly. Trent was almost wishing for a monster attack, just so he wouldn't have to sit at a desk and try and look like everything was normal.

The instant the final bell ran, he was out of the school and heading for Connor's car. Connor was only vaguely tolerant of the speed limit as he drove to Dr O's house, reaching it several minutes because Dr Oliver did.

The three of them hurried down to the lab. Hayley was seated at the computer, still wearing the same outfit as she had been the day before, shadows under her eyes suggesting severe lack of sleep and an expression showing no sign of enthusiasm for what she was doing. Jason had been let out of the handcuffs and he was now sitting in the corner, a laptop open in front of him that he was at with a sadness that bordered on hopelessness.

"No luck, I take it," said Trent.

Hayley shook her head, "Not a thing. The communicators were never intended for use between different realities."

"Maybe Mesagog would have some information on this sort of thing," Trent said.

"What?" said Connor, "You want to go ask him if he wants to help bring Kira back?"

"Of course not. But he might have useful information on his computer. I'm confident I can get to his island undetected."

"Who's Mesagog?" asked Jason.

"Creepy dinosaur guy," said Etahn, "He wants to turn the planet back to how it was in the prehistoric era."

"I guess you've got one good thing in your world if he's not around," said Connor.

Hayley wasn't about to be distracted from their current mission. She asked Trent, "Are you really sure you can get into Mesagog's lab?"

"Yeah. I got to know the invisiportal network pretty well. I just need to know what I should be looking for when I get there."

"It's a very risky plan," said Dr O from the stairs. Presumably he'd just arrived home and had heard the last part of the discussion.

"We managed it to get you out," said Connor.

"Hayley, with your current information, what do you think are your chances of finding Kira?"

"With enough time, I'd guess maybe a 75 chance of getting a communicator signal to her. But actually getting her back would be a different matter entirely."

Dr O turned to Jason, "You're absolutely certain there's nothing you can tell us that would help?"

"I didn't even know this sort of thing was possible. Tommy doesn't share his research with me."

Dr O thought a moment longer before turning back to Trent, "Then we go."

"We?"

"It's too dangerous for you to go alone and Mesagog's sensors shouldn't be able to detect me if I'm invisible. Connor, Ethan, you should stay here in case there's an attack or in case something goes wrong." They nodded their agreement. "Hayley, get a lock on the nearest portal."

"Right." Hayley turned to the computer, switched to another program and began typing again.

Meanwhile, Jason leaned over to Ethan and asked, "He can turn invisible in this world?"

Dr O ignored the question, heading for the ATVs, Trent a step behind him.

Then the computer started beeping.

"I've got Kira!" Hayley almost yelled.

They ran over to her, Trent peering over her shoulder at a map of Reefside, a yellow point now highlighted out in the woods.

"She's back at exactly the point she disappeared from."

Trent almost gave a shout of joy. Behind him, Connor and Ethan high-fived. Dr O almost sagged with relief at the news, then headed back to get his ATV to go fetch her.

The momentary excitement and relief faded when Hayley tried to contact Kira. There was no response.

The brief surge of incredible happiness was swallowed again in frantic worry as Hayley tried again and again to make contact. They watched on the map as a black dot rapidly approached the yellow, trying not to think about what Dr Oliver might find. Trent's mind kept coming up with images of Kira injured or dead, or perhaps just her communicator, lying on the forest floor with her nowhere to be found.

At last, Dr Oliver reached Kira and called them.

"She's alive," he said, "but unconscious. I'm bringing her back to the lab."

Alive. She was alive. Trent had to keep repeating that fact over and over in his mind, to keep down the panic at what she would look like when she got here. Jason looked pale and ill. Trent wondered if maybe his worries were worse, from having seen what the other version of Dr O would do.

At last, the door opened and Dr O came in, carrying Kira over to the medical bed. He lay her gently on her side, as there was obvious blood soaking her t-shirt on her back. Her wrist around her morpher had strange red marks on it that didn't quite look like injuries. Trent wasn't quite sure what they could be. It was as though her skin was just stained a darker shade in places. Meanwhile, Dr O was carefully peeling up the back of her t-shirt to get a look at the cause of the bleeding.

There was a perfect circle cut into her skin. Not deep and definitely not life-threatening. Just a circle of cuts that would no doubt become a scar.

"His mark."

Everyone looked up at Jason, who was staring at the circle.

"He cuts it into everyone he sets free," Jason explained, "so that they'll never be able to forget the fact that he showed them mercy."

"From what you've said, he doesn't seem the sort to show mercy," said Connor. There was a harsh anger in his tone. It seemed that he'd temporarily forgotten that it was another version of Dr Oliver they were talking about.

"He isn't often. But it's been known to happen. Most of the time if he lets someone go, it's because they've given him something in exchange for their lives."

"What sort of something?"

"Usually information. But I have sometimes managed to persuade him to let people go when he's been in a good mood. At least Kira will be able to hide this scar. Not everyone's so lucky."

"What do you mean?" Dr O asked.

"There was one guy he captured who worked for the rebels. He tortured him for two months but the kid was strong. He wasn't about to break and start giving information and he wasn't afraid of death. So Tommy cut his mark into the kid's cheek and let him go."

"That doesn't make sense," said Trent.

"Precisely. Everyone knows the dark prince doesn't let people go for no reason. The rebels would assume he'd broken and offered information in exchange for his life. When he told them he hadn't, they'd assume he was lying. He went through two months of hell to protect the rebels and because he refused to yield, the very people he was trying to protect would think he was a coward and a liar."

"Poor guy," muttered Hayley, "Who was he?"

"A kid named Cam."  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wakefulness came slowly, Kira's head pounding madly as she tried to gather her thoughts. She heard a voice calling her name and managed to open her eyes. A face swam into focus above her and with it came the memory of all that had just happened. Still, barely awake, her first reaction was one born of the memory of pain and her fist impacted firmly with flesh.

"Kira, Kira, it's OK."

"You're safe, Kira."

"Kira, relax."

She was bombarded by voices. Hands held her. Other faces became clear around her. Connor, Ethan, Trent and Hayley were all standing round the bed she lay on. A little distance away, Dr Oliver was bent over slightly, an arm across his stomach where she'd hit him.

She was in the Dino lab. She was home.

"Sorry," she said to Dr O.

"It's OK," he said, straightening up, "I'm sure some version of me deserved that."

"So you know about the alternate reality thing then?" she said, pushing herself into a sitting position, feeling the sharp pain in her back and the throbbing ache in her wrist. Her head was still aching, more so now she was vaguely upright. "You got aspirin?"

Her arm wasn't too bad now, but her skin tingled slightly in places as though with a residual memory of the energy. She looked at it and saw the marks, wondering if they'd fade or if they'd always be there. She wondered how she'd look if that machine had kept going any longer.

"Trent figured it out," said Dr O, handing her the jar of that Jason had been going through since his arrival. "What happened to you there?"

"I met their version of Tori. She's been working as a spy for a rebellion against you... um against the dark prince. She's a fully qualified ninja, but she's not a Ranger. It appears that there have hardly been any Rangers there."

"That's odd," said Dr O, "I mean, I can understand why teams like the Zeo and Turbo Rangers wouldn't have existed, but Sensei Wantanabe should have had the wind morphers. I don't see why he wouldn't have been able to make Tori a Ranger."

"Aside from the White Ranger," said Jason, "the only Power Rangers there have been since Tommy became the dark prince are the Aquitians, the Astros and the Gold Zeo."

"Ones who would have had their powers before he got his."

"Exactly."

"Anyway, Kira," continued Dr O, "what happened to you there?"

Kira briefly gave the story of her discussions with Tori, of going to try and find the communicator and being found by the prince. She skipped past the bit about him groping her and got straight to the fight and Maddy showing up with her neat water powers. She told about running and Maddy trying to call for help. She described briefly the dark guards and the prince summoning his power.

"I guess I got knocked out," she said, "I know what happened to Maddy and Tori."

She was surprised how calm her voice sounded when she talked about them. They had risked their lives to help her and now she didn't even know if they were alive or dead. For her, they had challenged the dark prince, despite the fact they were both clearly terrified. She'd never had a chance to thank them for that.

"What happened next?"

"I... um... I woke up some sort of lab. You... he... the prince worked out where I was from. He said he'd not fully closed the portal he'd used to send Jason here and guessed that the scanner must have triggered it to reopen slightly. He said he was going to fix that so no one would be able to come through it again."

"But you did. We found you in the woods."

"I don't him that you'd find a way to save me, no matter how well he thought he'd closed the portal. I don't him that if he was a real Ranger he'd already know that. So he sent me home."

She skimmed over the details of what else had happened, not wanting to dwell on it much less describe it to the others. She was safe now. It was over. She rubbed at her wrist and tried not to think about it as she talked only what words had passed between her and the prince.

"But why?"

"He doesn't want anyone to get from this world to his," she said. She looked across at Jason. "He doesn't want you to have a way back."

"He thinks of me as his one weakness," Jason said, "and now he's managed to get rid of me."

"I don't think it's that." Kira thought about the way the prince had looked when she'd mentioned Jason. She thought about the sadness on his face that had, briefly, replaced the cold evil.

"I think he really wants you to be free." 


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven **

Tori had been convinced that there was no way for Maddy, despite her apparent superpowers, to get them back to help Kira. Maddy's friends told her that they were going to try and find out what was happening to her, but it was difficult because of the magical shielding the dark prince had around the palace.

"Who are you people?" she asked, taking a seat at a round table beside Maddy. The girl who'd been introduced as Claire bustled around making tea for them both.

"We," said Xander, leaning on the table and smiling up at Tori, "are the Mystics. Chosen ones destined to fight evil and rescue beautiful girls from the hands of vicious villains."

"Oh brother," muttered Maddy, rolling her eyes.

"This isn't the time for flirting," said Nick, gently but firmly shoving Xander to one side.

The woman, Udonna, came and joined the group, "I am the White Mystic Ranger. There was a time when there were many Mystic Rangers, but the others were killed in a great battle many years ago. I preserved their powers, waiting for the day when I would bestow them upon the next generation of chosen ones. When the dark prince defeated the Aquitian Rangers, I knew that there were few left who could challenge him, so I began my search for those who were destined to take up the Mystic Powers. Eventually, I found them all and brought them here. However, something has prevented them from accessing their full powers."

"Maddy's powers looked pretty cool back there."

"Oh, we have magic," said Nick, "but we can't morph."

"There are two reasons I have been able to think of to explain this situation," continued Udonna, "One is that it is simply too early. The prophecy concerning the Mystic Rangers, the very reason I was able to find them, implies that they should come into their power in a little over a year. It may be that then their ability to morph will be available."

"And the other reason?"

"The Green Rangers does not want any with the ability to challenge him. He may have found a way to block the access to the morphing grid and prevent anyone who was not already a Ranger from becoming one."

"But that doesn't explain the White Ranger. I mean, the other White Ranger. He came out of nowhere a few months ago."

"That is why I am hoping it is the first reason that is preventing this group from achieving their full potential."

"Meanwhile," said Chip, "we've still got powers and can kick the bad guys' butts."

"We've had a few fights with the dark guards," Nick clarified, "and come out alive."

"That's more than most people," Tori agreed.

"The problem is," Nick went on, "we've not been able to do anything really significant with our powers. We've saved a kid who was painting anti-prince slogans on the walls and we managed to rescue a couple of people who were being shipped to the slave mines. But that's all."

Tori knew what was coming. Things made sense now. She understood why Maddy had been so keen on trying to help her. These people had powers and they wanted to use them for the good of everyone. Sure enough, Nick continued with exactly what Tori had been expecting to hear:

"We want to join the rebellion."

They were all looking at her expectantly, as though she could just conjure Andros out of thin air. She'd been a spy in the prince's palace, so they assumed she was some key figure in the rebellion. But all she'd done was record messages and wait, never hearing anything back, never knowing if her information was useful or even heard.

"I was chosen to go to the palace because I was a pretty girl of about the right age," Tori said, "and I'd just graduated ninja school. I hadn't been part of the rebellion before and so they didn't know how good a spy I'd make and they didn't know if I'd be able to keep quiet if I was captured. I never saw Andros and I never found out where they were based. Zhane came and had meetings with me, not the other way round. They didn't want me to know anything that could put them at risk if I was tortured."

"But you must have a way of contacting them."

"Yeah. Several. They're all hidden in the dark palace. I couldn't just carry around with me a communicator capable of getting through the prince's shields."

"I did," said Maddy.

"Yes. And you're incredibly lucky you were never caught."

"So you really have no way to get in touch with them?"

Tori thought for a bit, "There may be one guy. He was in pretty deep with the rebellion at one point and he's extremely smart. Even if he doesn't know for sure, I'm certain he can help us look for them. The problem will be finding him, if he's not at the school."

"What school?"

"Never mind. Does your wand work as a regular cell phone?"

"It's best not to risk it," said Maddy.

"Yeah," agreed Chip, "if you press the wrong combination of buttons you could activate a spell code to turn yourself into a rabbit or something."

Tori grimaced, "Maybe not. Does any of you have a real phone?"

"We'll have to head into town."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Mystics could apparently use magic to travel quickly between Rootcore and the town, so Tori got directions and ninja-streaked there, arriving outside a music shop less than a minute after the others. Tori was a little surprised that this was the place they'd chosen but she assumed they knew what they were doing and followed them inside.

The only occupant of the shop was a curly-haired man behind the counter. He looked up, delighted at the prospect of customers. His mild disappointment at recognising the Mystics vanished the moment he saw Maddy. He rushed across to give her a crushing hug.

"I thought you'd been taken by the prince," he said.

"I got away," Maddy replied, "Don't ask how."

"And Vida?"

There was a silence from the Mystics. Tori looked at their faces and saw the looks of sadness as they exchanged glances.

"Who's Vida?" Tori asked.

Instead of answering her, Xander said, "Toby, this is Tori and she needs to use your phone."

"Of course, of course," said, presumably, Toby. He pulled a phone from beneath the counter and offered it to Tori. Then Maddy tactfully took Toby's arm, guiding him away towards the back of the shop, asking him how he'd been since she'd been away.

Tori dialled the number, feeling, as always, that there was something weird about a top-secret ninja school having a phone line. It rang several times and Tori was beginning to wonder if no one was there.

"Hello," said a cautious but very familiar voice.

"Cam? It's Tori."

"Tori? How?"

"It's complicated. I've manage to escape from the palace. We need to talk, but in person. Are you still at the school?"

"What's left of it."

"What happened?"

"It's complicated," Cam said, echoing her own words.

"I'll head to Bluebay Harbour," Tori said. Then she covered up the mouth piece and asked, "Will you guys be able to get me there?"

"We can drive," said Xander. "If we start now and go through the night, we'll probably arrive tomorrow."

"Cam," Tori said into the phone again, "I should be arriving some time late tomorrow. Can we meet at the school?"

There was a short hesitation before Cam said, "There was a picture on the wall of the history classroom. What was it?"

Tori thought back to the many bored lessons she'd sat there and stared out the window or around the room or anywhere but the board. Cam was clearly trying to ensure she was really herself, so she couldn't afford to be wrong.

"It was a Japanese print," Tori answered, "showing the first secret ninja academy and the mountains behind it."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

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Cam was worried. He sat in Ninjops, the secret lab that was all that was left of the Wind Ninja Academy, and he fretted over possibilities. He knew Tori had been in the dark palace and people didn't just escape from there. He hated the part of his mind that tried to convince him that no one got out of there without offering something to the prince because he knew better than anyone that there were exceptions to that rule. But that didn't change the fact that this might be a trick or a trap.

He didn't believe that Tori would ever start working for the prince, not for any threats or promises in the universe. But that didn't get rid of the possibility that the prince might have found out about her somehow. He could have been simulating her voice. Cam wished he'd picked a harder question. There had been hundreds of students who'd graduated the Wind Ninja Academy over the years, and any one of them might have mentioned the print. Besides, it wasn't that hard to make a guess at the answer. But it was the first thing that had come to mind.

It had sounded like Tori. And not a great many people knew the phone number  
for the school. But he'd last seen her a slave in prince's palace. She might be a qualified ninja, but even so, Cam had a hard time believing she'd managed to escape under her own power.

A part of him wanted her to come. It was long time since he'd been able to have a proper conversation with a real person. He'd stopped even going into town because he couldn't easily hide the prince's mark. People saw it and instantly assumed the worst. Shops had told him he wasn't welcome as a customer. People he'd known for years refused to speak to him. An old lady he'd never even met had recognised the sign for what it meant and thrown a cabbage at him.

He would very much like to see Tori and have her believe him. He didn't know how much the prince's prisoners knew of what happened to the others. It may be she knew that he hadn't talked. Or not. She might think him a traitor as much as Andros and this could be a trap even if it was really her. Cam rubbed absently at the circular scar on his cheek.

There was a sound behind him at Cam turned.

In the entrance stood a teenaged boy. He had dark hair and a tanned face, with features that looked vaguely familiar. He stood casually, his hands pushing up the bottom of a white t-shirt to shove into jeans pockets. He didn't seem at all concerned about the fact he'd broken into a top-secret hideout.

"Who the hell are you?" Cam asked. He was on his feet instantly, taking on a fighting stance, despite the fact that the boy had yet to make a threatening move. He wondered if the phone call had just been someone using Tori's voice to make certain he was really here, or somehow using the phone signal to work out the precise location of the Ninjops.

"Here's a better question," the boy responded, "What do you think of the colour black?"

"What do you mean?" Cam didn't relax his stance.

"My associates and I have an object of great power. The problem is, we need someone to activate it. It has to be a specific person and we're not entirely certain of his, or her, identity. There have been some we thought might be the person we're looking for, but they haven't been successful. You're next on our list."

"What sort of object are we talking about?"

"One that might give us a more level footing against the dark prince."

"The rebellion wants nothing to do with me," Cam said.

"Do you really think Andros is the only person who wants the prince dead?" the boy almost laughed.

Light glinted off a bracelet on the boy's wrist, complete with a white gem. Cam took note of the white t-shirt and realised where he'd seen the boy's face before. It had been on all the announcements the prince had sent round, offering enormous rewards and freedom for large numbers of slaves if anyone could aid with the capture of this person.

"You're the White Ranger!" Cam's stance had relaxed slightly during their brief conversation, now he poised from a fight once more. The boy gave a brief nod and Cam took that as all the proof he needed. He leapt into an attack, trading blows for a few moments with the White Ranger, who blocked almost casually.

"And I thought we'd be able to do things the easy way," said the White Ranger, with not much real sign of regret.

They fought for a few minutes more, Cam needing all his skill and training against the unnatural strength of a Ranger. They moved round the room, Cam using anything that came to hand as a weapon. He had a feeling that this guy was testing him. He hadn't morphed yet. If he did, Cam stood no chance of defeating him. He had to win now, and quickly.

He flipped across a table and then kicked it upwards towards the White Ranger. The boy ducked under it, rolling and leaping into the attack again with barely a falter in his stride. Cam went to his the boy, but ended up with his arm pinned under the boy's own.

Then there came a sharp pain in Cam's back.

The boy looked up passed Cam towards the entrance.

"Nice shooting, Ethan," the boy said. Cam glanced back, getting a glimpse of a black boy in a blue t-shirt before the blackness overwhelmed him. The last thing Cam was aware of was strong arms lifting him up and starting to carry him.

He really shouldn't have answered the phone.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Free. People always assumed that he'd want freedom. He was certain the reason Andros despised him so much was because he'd gone back willingly after the Astro Rangers had gone to such great risk to rescue him. He hoped they understood that it had been partly for their protection. Tommy was extremely possessive about what he felt belonged to him, Jason more than most. Andros wouldn't be alive now, if Jason hadn't agreed to go back to the palace with Tommy.

And now Tommy had let him go. Tommy had decided to set him free.

But what would that mean for Tommy? And what about those whose lives depended on the frail hope of the dark prince's mercy?

There had been occasions when Jason had been able to plead for the life of a slave, or convince Tommy to kill someone quickly instead of slowly. In his heart, there was still a trace of goodness. There was still some fragment of Tommy that loved Jason and wanted him to be happy. That part would occasionally make those gifts of kindness, showing his love by offering mercy to his subjects.

For them, Jason had stayed. He had stood beside the prince of evil, knowing that he alone could bring out that tiny piece of the real Tommy from within the darkness. With Jason gone, there would be no more mercy. There would be no more days of good moods where not even the slaves had to be afraid.

Jason walked through the woods of Reefside, feeling the warmth of the sun, smelling the scent of life. He should be happy. He was safe, with no need to fear any more pain. But all he felt was the emptiness.

He knew it wasn't just because of thoughts of kindness towards the others. He thought of Tommy, his occasional smiles. He thought of the pleasure he gained by knowing he was the cause. He thought of quiet nights together when Jason had been able to forget the evil that controlled their lives. He thought of the rare nights when he would wake up to hear Tommy sobbing and know that the man he loved truly was in there still.

He didn't want to leave that man behind.

There was another Tommy here, but he was so different. Jason knew he should have been happier with this man, but there was no hint of love in the eyes of this Tommy. They were friends and that was all that could be between them.

Jason's love was left behind in another world, a barrier as wide as a shadow between them, and yet Jason had no hope of ever reaching him again.

"Damn you!" he yelled at the air.

There had often been moments he hated Tommy. But now he hated him for his compassion. On his own, without Jason there beside him, his Tommy would be lost forever to the darkness. There would be no one to guide the goodness to the surface. This would no doubt be Tommy's last act of mercy. Without Jason, the true Tommy would truly be dead.

Jason had never asked for his freedom. He'd been happy imprisoned with Tommy. He'd found joy in the darkness.

He would go back. If someone offered him a way, he would return without hesitation. Despite the pain and the constant fear of his life with Tommy, he would trade in his freedom in a heartbeat. He loved Tommy. Through good and evil, through all the suffering in hell, he would love Tommy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey. Time to wake up." Someone was patting Cam's cheeks with not quite enough force to be considered a slap.

He opened his eyes, looking into the face of the White Ranger.

Cam's first instinct was to fight, but his attempts were stopped by straps that held him down. He looked around. He was strapped to something that seemed a cross between a chair and a bed. The room he was in looked like some sort of lab. Cam wasn't sure he wanted to know the purpose of the pointed machine that was over him, not pointing at him but clearly designed so that it could at a moment's notice. Around him, green lighting showed shelves and tables covered in brightly coloured somethings in jars.

"What is this place?" Cam asked.

"Ah, Cameron, glad you could join us." Walking in the lab's door was a blond man in a smart business suit.

"I wasn't exactly given much choice," said Cam. He tested out the straps. They stretched across his chest, arms and legs and seemed very unwilling to shift.

"I am Dr Anton Mercer. You've already met my son Trent." He nodded to the White Ranger, who was wandering over to lean against one of the tables the lab was furnished with.

"What do you want with me?" Cam asked.

Mercer walked to one of the tables and lifted an object, a large piece of white stone that was slightly transparent, showing something dark at the heart of it.

"Inside this stone is an object we call a Dino Gem," Mercer said, "with the power to make someone a Power Ranger. We've been trying to find the right person to activate it. That may be you."

"It won't matter who you try. The prince has found some way to prevent people becoming Rangers." Cam knew all the work his father had done, both on his own and with Andros and Zhane. He'd helped with some of it and knew that the Ranger powers wouldn't attach to a person in the way they should. None of them were sure how the prince had achieved it so they hadn't been able to get around his block.

"That doesn't work for the Dino Gems," Mercer told him. "We're not sure why, but the Gems' powers are immune to the prince's block. So far, I've only been able to locate the two, but I'm sure there are more."

Cam hoped his face didn't show his interest. If this man had truly found a power source that could create Rangers, he might be able to use his research to activate the wind morphers. If he could go back to Andros with working morphers, they might accept that he hadn't betrayed the rebels.

"All I ask," Mercer went on, "is that you try to take the Gem. If it doesn't chose you, then we won't force you to stay."

"He's a good fighter," put in Trent, "we could use him." He was standing there almost carelessly, as though it didn't matter to him that he'd just kidnapped someone. He didn't seem to care that Cam might have his own opinion on this matter.

"He's right," said Mercer, "We have a place for any fighter who wants to stay. But we won't force you."

"Unless I activate the Gem."

"If you activate the Gem, you'll become a Ranger. It will be your duty to fight the prince. Cameron, we are here working to find a way to end the prince's reign. I would like you to help us."

"So you kidnapped me?"

"I did ask first." Trent was inspecting his nails. There was a coldness on his face that spoke of evil as clearly as the stories Cam had heard of the White Ranger's actions.

"I know you fought with the rebels once," Mercer said, "I'm offering you the chance to fight again."

"Not with you." If Mercer had approached him at Ninjops, Cam's answer might have been different. He would love a chance to get back at the prince for what had been done to him. He would love a chance to prove to Andros and the others that he wasn't a traitor, but he wouldn't fight beside the White Ranger. He didn't have the support and power of Dark Spectre, but all the stories claimed he was at least as evil as the prince.

"I'll leave you to think it over," Mercer said. He put the stone down on a table in clear view of Cam and left the room, pausing only to call Trent to follow him. The White Ranger paused a moment, looking at Cam as though he'd love a chance to force his decision. But then he turned and followed his father out.

Cam lay there. Mercer's words had made sense. A part of him was thrilled at the prospect of being offered a Ranger's powers. But another part of him was terrified of it. He thought of Andros, a quiet Hunter who would let nothing stand in his way. He thought of the prince, so calm and contented as he tortured helpless victims. He thought of Trent, standing there calmly at the thought of kidnap.

If that was what being a Ranger did, Cam didn't want it.

He'd almost come to accept the fact that he was no longer part of the cause. He'd taken to hiding away in Ninjops, knowing that the rebels would never accept his help again. He'd spent so many days there, wishing for revenge or a chance to prove himself. This might provide both, but he didn't want anything to do with the White Ranger.

"Dr Mercer's not so bad."

Cam looked round. Standing in the doorway was the black kid he'd seen for a moment at Ninjops. The kid who'd presumably shot him with a tranquilliser.

"I'm Ethan," the kid said.

"Cam."

"Look, I know this is weird, but Dr Mercer really does want to just stop the prince."

"And the White Ranger?"

Ethan didn't answer. He stared at the floor.

"You tried to get at that thing?" Cam asked, nodding towards the Gem.

"Yeah. Dr Mercer thought that I might have what was needed to be a Ranger. Turns out he was wrong."

"Yet you stuck around."

"What was I supposed to do? Go to school and play video games like every other kid? A girl I knew from school was taken off to be one of the prince's slaves. One guy in town started buying space on billboard ads to show pictures of the mines the prince set up. The prince broadcast his execution. It took three days!" The anger in his face was so fierce that Cam didn't doubt this guy would love to kill the prince with his bare hands if he got the chance.

He wasn't the only one Cam had seen with that expression.

"Yeah, Trent can be... well... OK, I admit he gets carried away with what he does. But maybe we need someone like him. When we're fighting someone as evil as the prince, maybe it will take someone who lets nothing stop him."

Maybe he was right. For two months, the prince had done everything he was capable of to hurt him, physically, mentally and emotionally. Then he'd done the worst thing imaginable and destroyed the trust the rebels had in him. The prince was capable of evil that Cam hadn't even imagined. He'd seen what had happened the last time Zhane had tried to morph. That evil had to be stopped.

"Give me that stone." 


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**  
_  
"You've got to admire the person who first thought of turning humans into living weapons." Pain in her arm. Sparks, like miniature lightning, shooting from her morpher and burying themselves into her wrist and hand. His hand on her face, like a gentle caress. The energy inside her, shifting out of control, changing rapidly between exhilarating and exhausting strength to the utter drain of a power-down, moving through all stages in between. Her body shaking like she'd just fought a hundred battles in a row. His face, smiling as he saw her scream. _

Kira awoke in a cold sweat. The details of the dream faded quickly, leaving only vague recollections of pain and fear. She fumbled for the light switch and then stared at the marks on her arm. She didn't need to light to know where they were; her skin still tingled with the memory of the pain. There weren't too many of them, she told herself, just a few reddish splodges on her skin around her morpher. Probably no one would even notice.

She'd tried washing them off, but they weren't dirt. They were the reaction her body had had to the concentrated morphing energy being fed into her. It was sickening that the prince had managed to turn the Rangers' greatest power into his greatest torture device.

She wondered what would have happened if she'd stayed in that machine any longer and shuddered at the thought.

She glanced at the clock. Two am. There was no way she'd get back to sleep tonight, not with the memories of the prince's machine running round in her head. She climbed out of bed and found her school bag. If she was going to be awake, she might as well get on with some of the work she'd missed. If she kept her mind occupied, she might be able to stop thinking of the sight of a familiar and trusted face, showing obvious delight as he tore at her body with her own powers.

Kira spent the night working and gradually, her thoughts calming and clearly, the fear fading under the influence of mathematics and French. After a time, she began yawning more than working and she wondered if maybe it would be a good idea to get back in bed.

Then she noticed the time. The world on the other side of the curtains was definitely growing brighter and her alarm clock would be going off in half and hour anyway.

She might as well get ready to face the day.

She showered and dressed and ate her toast like it was any other morning. Her mum noticed something was up at breakfast, but Kira dismissed it with a comment about bad dreams. No need to worry her parents about the cause of said dreams. Then Kira headed back up to her room and got some concealer from her make-up bag. She'd chosen to wear a long-sleeved top, but that did nothing to hide the red marks on the back of her hand.

A quick smear of make-up later, and no one would be able to tell the difference. Kira wondered if the marks would ever fade, or if she'd spend the rest of her life hiding them. She stared at herself in the mirror, surprised at how normal she looked. The girl staring back at her from the reflection was the same as always, just a little sadder and considerably more tired.

No one would be able to guess what she'd been through.

No one would guess that every other thought returned to Tori and Maddy, wondering if they were now suffering the pains she'd escaped. After everything those two had done for her, Kira wished for some small way that she could help them. Their world was falling apart, and still they'd fought to return her to hers.

Kira wiped away an idle tear, forced a smile onto her face and set off for school.

Wherever Maddy and Tori were, there wasn't a damn thing she could do to help them now. The prince had said he'd seal the portal forever once he'd sent Kira back through.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trent headed down to the dining room, but his dad was nowhere around. Presumably he'd had a business meeting or video conference with China or some other event that meant it was vitally important he headed to work without even acknowledging Trent.

Trent helped himself to toast an cereal from the collection of food left in the middle of the table and made his way to his usual seat.

There was something on the chair.

Trent looked at it; a disk of some sort, but somewhat heavier than a CD or DVD would be. There were no markings on either side. Trent wondered if it was there by accident, or if his dad had left him there for him to find. He munched at his toast, staring at his reflection in the shining circle.

He put the disk in his bag when he headed to school and spent most of the day wondering about it while he should have been concentrating. He wasn't the only one who appeared to be having difficulty. Kira kept yawning and he had to prod her several times during history to keep her awake.

"Why are you so tired?" he asked her as they walked between history and English.

"I didn't sleep very well. I had some bad dreams."

"About what Tommy's evil twin did to you?" Trent wished he could claim it was just friendly concern making him want to know what had happened, but a good portion of it was plain curiosity. Kira hadn't gone into any detail about what had been done, but she spent half the time rubbing at her wrist, lost in thought. Whatever had happened, it must have been really bad for her to be trying so hard not to mention it.

Kira nodded. "And about Tori and Maddy."

"You really think there's no way back to help them?"

"I don't know. The prince seemed really confident that no one would find a way through if he closed the portal. But he wasn't completely convinced. I told him that you guys would be coming to rescue me, that as real Rangers, you'd find a way to reach me no matter what he did. He must have thought it at least possible you'd manage it, because he set me free rather than risk there being a way for Jason to get back."

Trent thought for a few moments, considering the disk in his bag and the last request he'd made to his dad, hoping for information.

"Closing his portal might prevent us from using that one to reach him," Trent said, "but it doesn't mean that we wouldn't be able to open a portal of our own."

"Yeah, but not even Hayley could figure out how to do that."

They'd reached the English classroom now and Trent had to spend the lesson sitting there, listening to the teacher droning on about artist imagery in a book most of the class were only pretending to have read. He wished he'd had time to try it in his computer, but he doubted it would have worked. It might be about the same size as a CD, but it didn't feel like one.

Trent knew what he'd end up doing with the disk. Really, he'd known since he'd first seen it. He knew he'd be heading over to the Dino lab as soon as school finished and seeing if it would run in the computer there. He just hoped Hayley and Dr O wouldn't be there.

He was just terrified of what might be stored on the disk. All the time he'd been working with the other Rangers, he'd been hiding the truth of who Mesagog really was. If it turned out that this disk really was his dad's, it didn't necessarily mean it had been intended for Trent to find. It could easily hold something that would reveal his dad's secret, and the part Trent had played in concealing it.

But still, he had to try, just in case it was something that could help them help the other world, and kick the butt of the guy who'd hurt Kira.

Trent spent the rest of the day wondering if there was some way he could ensure he was the only one in the lab. He knew Hayley would probably be working the café this evening, particularly after having it closed to search for Kira. And Dr O usually had work to finish up in the school before he left. If he hurried, Trent just might get there first. He had no way of predicting where Jason would be, but hopefully it would be somewhere very much else, enjoying his newfound freedom.

But how to get there? Despite all his dad's money, he didn't have a car and he couldn't easily ask Connor for a ride.

The only option that occurred to him was to morph. When powered up, he could get an incredible turn of speed and could probably run to Dr O's house faster than driving. He just had to make his excuses and slip away the instant the bell rang. Hopefully that would give him enough time on the computer.

It probably didn't count as a misuse of powers if it might help them save people in another universe.

As the last lesson drew to a close, Trent was already slipping his belongings into his bag. Connor leaned across the desk and asked if he felt like doing some soccer practice with him. Trent said he couldn't, grateful that he could be sure at least that Connor wouldn't be there, and presumably Ethan too, since Connor would need someone as a practice partner.

Trent watched the second hand ticking by on the clock. He'd stopped listening to the teacher several minutes earlier and now was just waiting. The moment the bell began, he was on his feet. He was out the door almost before it had finished ringing, aware of Connor some way behind him, asking what his hurry was.

He rushed from the school, rounded a corner and did a quick check to make sure no one was around.

"White Ranger, Dino Power!"

As little more than a streak of white, he covered the distance to Dr O's house. He wondered if he should try this more often if it looked like he was going to be late home.

As expected, the lab was completely deserted when he arrived. He headed for the computer, put the disk in the drive and seriously hoped it wasn't a virus that was about to crash the mainframe.

He waited, fingers crossed, imagining that it was taking too long and that maybe he'd just broken the computer. Then a load of files opened up. Trent stared at them, trying to make any sense of the jumble of equations and formulae. There were a few blueprints for some sort of machine, but Trent hadn't the faintest idea what it was meant to be. He flipped through the various files, hoping for a summary or a description that would give him a clue as to what he was looking at, but seeing only more equations.

"Trent, what are you doing here?"

He spun round, guilt written on all his features, to see Dr O descending the stairs. Trent must have been trying to understand the files for longer than he'd thought. Trent quickly got out of the main chair.

"Um... just checking out what's on a disk I found."

Dr Oliver headed over to the computer and took his usual place in the swivel chair.

"When you say you found it," Dr O said sternly, "you wouldn't have happened to find it in Mesagog's lair?"

"No." Dr O just stared at him. "No, I promise. I didn't go to Mesagog's island. I just found this disk lying around and wondered what was on it."

"Well, I'd have to ask Hayley to be sure, but it looks to me like this might be the designs for a machine for generating portals between dimensions."


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Xander asked. They'd had to leave the car behind quite a while back as they made their way through the dense forest that surrounded the Wind Ninja Academy.

"I'm sure. You can't have top-secret schools right next to town, you know."

Tori led the way to the waterfall that provided access to the school. She wasn't quite sure how to get the others across. She didn't know if they magic would grant them the ability to walk across the pool. She supposed they could always swim.

"We're here," she said, stepping out into the clearing. In front of her, the white torrent of water made its way down the cliff into the clear pool. It was a sight she'd never really expected to see again.

"There's nothing here," said Xander.

"I think that's why it's called top secret," put in Chip.

"We get in through the waterfall," Tori said.

"So, there's a hidden path or something?"

"Not exactly." Tori started walking across the surface of the water. She turned back to the others, "It's to make sure only people who are meant to be here can get in."

She watched Chip try an experimental step on the water. He looked very disappointed when all he achieved was a wet trainer.

"Just you and me then," said Maddy, stepping onto the surface of the water with slightly smug ease. She muttered to Tori as they walked through the waterfall, "It's about time Nick realised setting things on fire isn't always the best power."

Tori had expected to come through into the bright woodland just below the school. Instead, they found themselves in a stone tunnel. She looked around puzzled, Maddy catching her expression.

"I take it this isn't the school."

"Not any part of it that I've seen." But they were here now, so Tori kept walking, ready for a fight at any moment. She wondered if this was a trick or a trap. Surely Cam would have mentioned something like this.

The tunnel led to a wide room. A huge computer dominated the place, but even more obvious was the signs of struggle. Furniture had been overturned or broken. Tori stepped over the remains of a potted plant.

"Cam?" she called out, "Anyone?" But she wasn't really surprised when no one answered.

He'd said he'd be at the school, but now there was no sign of the school and no sign of Cam. Tori stared round at the wreckage of what must have been a pretty tough fight and wondered if Cam was alright. It seemed to be a pattern in her life recently that people she considered friends ended up getting hurt.

"Maybe there's something on the computer," Maddy said.

"Maybe," said Tori, "but if it's Cam's computer I'm scared to touch it. He's a genius with technological stuff. I might break something important just by breathing on the wrong thing."

"There's nothing else round here that's going to show us what happened."

Tori looked at the mess. Cam had always been so precise and organised. If this was where he'd been, there wasn't the slightest chance he'd leave the place like this if he'd had any say in the matter. Which meant he was in trouble or worse. Tori owed it to him to try and figure this out. It didn't matter that he must have talked; no one else had ever held out that long when the prince was trying to break them. For those two months of silence, Tori had to discover what had happened here.

She sat down at the computer and looked for an on button. She tapped a key on the keyboard in the hope that it was just on standby. The screen lit up, or at least attempted to. It flickered to life briefly and then failed.

"I guess we need to find some other way to figure out what happened to Cam."

"He was captured by the White Ranger."

Tori spun round at the new voice. Standing behind the two girls, in the centre of the room, was a tall, blond figure. He looked frail and thin, with a deep tiredness on his expression. He still wore the black and silver uniform of his former glory, though a sleeve was pinned up over the stump that was all that remained of his left arm. Just visible above the high neck were the red marks on his skin that were reputed to cover most of his torso and all of the stump. But still he gave Tori a slight smile of greeting.

"Zhane!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, Cameron, do you stay and fight with us?" Dr Mercer asked. Ethan had called him back and then released the straps that held Cam down so that Cam could try and get to the Gem inside the stone.

Nothing had happened.

Clearly he wasn't destined to be a Ranger. But that meant he had to make the choice. If he stayed, he'd be in a position to fight again, to do some good instead of just sitting around in Ninjops working on machines and programs that would never be used. But it would mean allying himself with someone like the White Ranger.

"I'll think about it," Cam said.

Mercer seemed satisfied with that. "Ethan, why don't you show Cameron around and introduce him to the others, let him know what he'd be signing up for."

"Sure," Ethan said. Cam followed Ethan from the lab, but the rest of this place appeared no less creepy. Ethan lead the way along green corridors lit with yellowish light to a sort of lounge. The room held some comfortable chairs and a screen that might either have been TV or computer. The various chairs were occupied, presumably by 'the others'.

There was a pretty young woman called Elsa who had apparently been working with Dr Mercer for a few years now. She smiled a greeting at Cam from across a laptop. There was a girl with dark hair with a pink streak in it, who was listening to music with a sulky expression. Ethan introduced her as Vida, but the girl barely looked up to acknowledge Cam. Then there was a guy in what was unmistakably the uniform of a Ninja Academy.

"I trained with the Thunder Ninjas under Sensei Amino," the guy said. That appeared to be the end of the conversation as far as he was concerned and he looked back at the book he was reading.

"Don't mind Hunter," Ethan said, leading Cam from the room again, "It was his brother's birthday yesterday and, well, we have no idea where his brother is or even if he's alive."

"And Vida's excuse?"

"No idea. She doesn't really talk. Ever. I think the prince got someone from her family, but even that much took me a month to figure out."

"How much have you been able to really do to fight him?" Cam asked.

"We destroyed a ship that was going to take a load of slaves off to another planet somewhere, people who'd said enough against the prince to be considered a dangerous influence. We freed a few hundred prisoners, including Hunter."

"I guess that's something," said Cam.

"Dr Mercer hasn't wanted to go up against the prince directly with only Trent really capable of fighting him, so we've been focussed on trying to find someone to use the black Dino Gem. That's how Vida came here. Dr Mercer identified her as a potential Ranger."

Ethan took Cam through into another lab. This was one was filled with strange machinery that loomed eerily in the dim lighting.

"These are Dr Mercer's abandoned projects. He's created these things over the years. Some haven't done what he'd hoped. Others failed to work at all."

"What are all these things for?" Cam asked. He inspected the nearest of the machines. It had a large, transparent tube with various feeds going into it from the main bulk of the machine.

"That one, I think, was one of his early ones. It was supposed to write energy directly into the DNA of someone inside the tube to give them Ranger powers. That was before he figured out the block."

Cam moved on through the rows of machines, mostly covered with the dust of months or even years of being stored away in here, useless. Cam couldn't help but feel he understood them.

"That one," Ethan said as Cam paused by one with an arch in the middle, "is supposed to access other universes. Dr Mercer came up with a theory that there were other worlds parallel to this one and in some of them, the block might not be in place. He thought if he could take people through to another world and make them Rangers there, they'd still be Rangers when they came back here."

"It didn't work?"

"Apparently not. He never managed to connect to even one of these theoretical universes."

Cam had spent this time investigating the machine. There was a screen built into the side of it that he managed to get to display the schematics for it. He studied the blueprints for a few minutes and looked at the equations that drove its functions. He was barely aware of Ethan asking if he wanted to see the rest as he pondered the physics of it.

"It's obvious one thing he did wrong," Cam said, "He failed to take into account refraction at the dimensional barrier."

"What?"

Cam turned to Ethan, turning his theory over in his mind as he tried to explain it in easy terms. "You know how if you shine light into a prism at an angle, it will bend?"

"Of course."

"Well Dr Mercer is assuming that these multiple universes are precisely parallel to each other. I can see why he thought that, since there's no apparent crossing of dimensions, but if there's even a slight misalignment between the worlds, then energy trying to cross between them will get bent. Any signals will be distorted. And when just start thinking not just of waves, but of particles, things can get very messy. Even if Dr Mercer did get a link with this machine, anything that went through would probably get atomised."

Ethan blinked for a moment. Cam wondered if maybe he was still trying to understand. Then Ethan gave a wide grin.

"I know they said you were smart, but seriously, wow! I spent weeks studying these things, trying to see what Dr Mercer has worked on, and I never even understood the first line of those equations."

"I guess something has to make up for the fact I've never had a social life," Cam returned the grin. It had been a long time since he'd had anything said to him that didn't include an insult, and this guy he barely knew started ranting about Cam's genius. Of course Cam was smiling.

"Do you think you could get this to work?" Ethan asked.

Cam shrugged, "I can't see any harm in trying."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This would never work," Hayley muttered. She was studying the information on the disk. Trent had yet to give a satisfactory explanation for how he'd managed to find something so relevant just lying around. He'd insisted that he hadn't gone to Mesagog's lair to get it and so Tommy was willing to let it go for now. This was something to discuss with him in private, not in front of the others.

The Rangers had gathered in the Dino lab, along with Jason, who'd looked surprisingly thrilled at the prospect of a way back to someone who was, apparently, an evil, torturing psychopath. Tommy could well believe the worst of any version of himself who'd been evil for any length of time.

"What's wrong with it?" Tommy asked. He immediately regretted the question as Hayley's explanation began. He recognised most of the words. He'd even used many of them in his own science classes, but what Hayley said sounded like a foreign language. All he got was that it was something to do with refraction of energy between multiple universes.

"Can you make it work?" Jason asked.

"Maybe," Hayley answered, "assuming that's the only thing wrong with the design. And assuming you have an unlimited budget for me to buy the parts with and don't mind waiting while some of them are shipped from around the world or maybe even custom built."

"But you've built all our Ranger gear out next to nothing," said Connor. "Is this really so hard?"

"Parallel universes are not meant to interact. The fact that Jason's here proves it's possible, but that doesn't mean it's in any way easy. This makes creating a morpher look like building a tower of toy blocks."

"So, would you be able to get me back?" Jason asked.

"I'm afraid 'maybe' is the best I can offer," Hayley said, "and certainly not any time soon."

Jason nodded. He didn't say anything, just headed towards the door. Tommy would be the first to admit that this guy was a stranger to him, but he recognised subtle signs from his experience with the Jason of this world. This guy was more upset by the situation than he wanted any of the others to know.

Tommy followed him through the door and out into the tunnels that led to the woods.

"Jase, I know Hayley doesn't seem confident, but she really is brilliant. She's pulled miracles out of nowhere before. If anyone can get you back, she will."

"Thanks," muttered. Jason. He didn't turn round to look at Tommy. Tommy guessed that he was hiding the fact there were tears on his face.

"In the meantime," Tommy said, "we have to figure out what you're going to do. You're welcome to stay here with me for as long as you need, but if Hayley thinks this could take some time, it might be better to get you sorted with a place of your own."

"I'm not sure," Jason said. Tommy could see why he might be hesitant. After all, this guy had spent the last few years a slave. Living on his own after that would probably be tough. But Tommy wanted to try getting Jason settled into something resembling a normal life. Maybe, if he could start enjoying things here, he would stop wanting to go back. Tommy almost found himself hoping that Hayley really would take months, because maybe that time would be what was needed to convince Jason he was better off here, away from the monster Tommy knew he was capable of being.

"Alright," Tommy said, "but maybe there's someone who could help you more than I can. I thought we might call this world's version of you."

Jason looked up, surprised at the suggestion. Then he smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like to meet him."  



	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Maddy watched Tori run over to hug the new arrival. She'd heard the name Zhane before. Everyone had. There were so many stories and rumours about the man that it was hard to believe he was standing in front of her. Considering that half the tales claimed he'd been killed or crippled, Maddy thought the man here looked all too normal. He was missing most of one arm and was thin enough that his cheeks looked sunken and hollow, but he was still able to cheerfully return Tori's hug with his good arm.

"Zhane, this is Maddy," Tori said. "She helped me escape the palace. She's got some really awesome powers."

"Nice to meet you," said Zhane, stepping forward to shake her hand.

"Hi."

"So, what exactly has happened to Cam?" Tori asked.

"We've been keeping an eye on him since the prince set him free," Zhane said, "and yesterday, shortly after you called him, the White Ranger turned up. He and one of his associates managed to capture Cam."

"But why? Do you think he's OK?"

"It's obvious they wanted him alive. From what he said, we think the White Ranger may have found a way to create new Rangers, despite all the prince has done to prevent it."

Maddy thought of all of Udonna's attempts to activate their morphing powers. It sounded like it really was the prince's fault they'd failed. But if there was a way round it, maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to activate the Ranger powers she was supposed to have the potential for. Then, with that strength inside her, she might be able to figure out what had happened to Vida.

"So how to we save Cam?" Tori asked.

Zhane didn't immediately answer the question and Maddy was certain she wasn't the only one who noticed he avoided it.

"Andros sent me to bring you to join the rebels," Zhane said, "Then we'll plan our next move."

Tori didn't mention Zhane's evasion. Instead, she said, "Maddy and her friends want to join the rebellion. They have amazing powers and I'd have been killed by the dark guards if it weren't for them."

Zhane considered this for a moment.

"I'll take you to see Andros." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small device. He pressed a few buttons on it and Maddy found herself enveloped in a blue light. A moment later, she was standing on the other side of the waterfall again, the guys staring at them in surprise.

"Cool!" Chip exclaimed.

"Teleportation," Zhane said.

"Is this Cam?" Nick asked, looking clearly surprised and confused by Zhane's haggard appearance.

"No, this is Zhane," Tori introduced.

The others obviously recognised the name.

"Tori tells me," Zhane said, "that you want to be a part of the rebellion."

"That's right," said Nick.

Zhane studied them each in turn. "Well, you're young, but that's not stopped a lot of others who want to fight. But you should know that if you decide to do this, there's no turning back. Those who've seen our headquarters and learned our secrets can't just change their minds and go back to normal lives. We've stayed hidden from the prince by not letting anyone leave after they've joined us. Do you really want to give up your future for a dangerous fight that could get you killed or worse?"

Maddy looked at him. Even as he stood, tall and confident in front of them, he still radiated an aura of immense tiredness. She took in the sight of his missing arm and the strange marks that were just visible above the neck of his shirt.

But she wasn't going to change her mind.

She'd been doubtful about facing the prince when Udonna had first approached them about it. But then Vida had vanished without a trace and there had been no possible explanation but the actions of the Green Ranger. Maddy had known then that she would fight however possible, if only to find out what had happened to her sister. She'd given up her freedom in the hope that the dark palace would hold some answers for her.

Now, even though she suspected she might never learn the truth of what had happened to Vida, she wasn't going to give up trying. And she would see the prince paid for whatever it was he'd done.

"I'm sure," Maddy said.

"Yeah," agreed Chip, "what's the point of having superpowers if we don't get to save the universe?"

"I'm in," Nick said.

"All the girls love a hero, right?" said Xander.

"Alright then," Zhane said. He activated the teleportation again.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ethan watched as Cam worked on Dr Mercer's universe-crossing machine. He'd been left with the job of baby-sitting the new guy to make sure he didn't turn out to be a spy or attempt to send out information about the group's location. He didn't really mind. He wasn't a Ranger. Despite his hours of practice in the shooting range, he knew he wasn't ever going to compare to Hunter or even Vida as a fighter. And a kid who hadn't even finished high school could hardly compare to Dr Mercer when it came to technical knowledge.

Of all the people here, Ethan knew he was the expendable one. He did his duty well enough, but he wasn't the one Dr Mercer turned to first for anything.

So he sat and watched Cam work, helping whenever he could. Ethan had always been smart, especially with computers, but Cam was simply brilliant. His mind seemed to easily spot patterns in the machine that Ethan would have to work hours to find. Ethan wondered how the rebels had ever let him go. Even with the mark on his face as evidence of a momentary weakness, the guy's brilliance was too amazing to be ignored.

Ethan hoped Cam would stay. They might have a Ranger on their side, but they were facing all the evil in the universe and one Ranger probably wouldn't be enough. Cam could be what they needed to tip the balance in their favour.

He didn't see what reasons Cam had for saying no. Sure, some of Trent's actions put him rather more in the evil column than the good, but the world was divided into all sorts of shades of grey. Ethan would rather side with Trent and Dr Mercer than Tommy Oliver any day. Trent, despite all his faults, still wanted to fight for the sake of the earth.

"OK, I think we're ready to put some power in this thing," said Cam.

"I think we should call Dr Mercer," said Ethan. "He'll want to be here if this thing works."

Ethan headed for the door, or more accurately, the intercom built into the wall beside it. He signalled through it to Dr Mercer's office. Sure enough, the response was that they should wait until the others arrived.

"It probably won't do anything," Cam said, "Even assuming he's correct about his many universes theory, there's no guarantee this will work."

It wasn't just Dr Mercer who came, but all of the others. Ethan could see the slight nervousness in Cam as he prepared to start up the machine. He wasn't really expecting this to work and he was worried about their reactions. Ethan wasn't. He'd seen so many of Dr Mercer's machines fail. He'd been there when, over and over, Dr Mercer failed to make them Rangers.

If this failed, it would make no difference. If this succeeded, it could give them a way to win the war.

"I don't know exactly what will happen," Cam said.

"I put this thing here thinking it would never work," Dr Mercer said, "If this does nothing, you'll just prove me right. I won't complain about that." He gave a smile and Cam relaxed slightly. Mercer always knew exactly the right thing to say and, sure enough, Cam looked more confident as he went to throw the switch.

Ethan didn't doubt that Dr Mercer had just gone a long way to winning Cam over with that simple speech. Mercer was a great man. Not just in the brilliant mind that was responsible for so many amazing creations, but in his spirit. He would do anything to protect this planet, and his family. And now he'd invited Ethan and the others to be a part of it, taking care of them almost as he did Trent. Ethan couldn't imagine wanting to be anywhere else.

Cam turned the machine on. There was a hum of energy, building rapidly until Ethan could feel the vibrations through the floor. Lights came on all over it, blinking through red and orange until every one of them was green. It was ready.

"You'd better stand back," Cam said. He waited until they'd all moved back a few paces, then he pressed a sequence of buttons.

Energy shot from several points on the inside of the arch. It was like lightning that met at a point in the centre, crackling and flashing as the point grew larger, expanding until the whole of the arch was filled with a shimmering brightness. Ethan almost couldn't bear to look at it; the light was so strong. Then it faded slightly, until the light became no more than a bright sheen covering the area inside the arch. Ethan could actually see the rest of the room through it.

Cam studied readouts of the screen.

"It's ready," he said, sounding as though he could hardly believe it.

"Then let's test it properly," said Mercer, stepping up in front of the arch.

"You're not serious thinking of going through it?" asked Cam, "I don't know what it will do to you. We can't even be certain that goes to another world."

"Anton, you can't," said Elsa.

"This is too experimental to test on anyone else," Mercer said.

"Dad," Trent said. Instead of the usual coldness, there was actual emotion in his tone. There was sadness mingled with affection as he looked at his father about to risk his life for the planet.

Dr Mercer turned to Trent, already to beginning to say that this would be alright, but his face met Trent's fist coming the other way. Mercer hit the ground, out cold. Trent shook out his fist, glaring round at the others as though daring them to say anything. No one did. None of them would have let Mercer go through that thing either. He was too vital here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hayley was working from the blueprints Trent had found on the beginnings of the machine. She wasn't working all that hard on it, since she'd drawn up a list of all the vital parts and most of them wouldn't be available for a month at the minimum. But she could put the groundwork in place for when they got here.

At least this way, Jason would know she was trying to do something. She could see from his expression that it was all but killing him to be trapped here like this. Hayley really couldn't see why going back appealed to him so much, but she couldn't deny that it did.

She was immensely curious as to who had drawn up the designs. They were brilliant. Obviously, they were flawed in several places, but Hayley knew it would have taken her months of dedicated research to even get close to this point if she'd started from scratch. Whoever had made these was a genius, but Trent was still insisting he'd just found the disk lying around.

Hayley finished off another circuit board and slotted it into place. She'd built the main casing for the machine with ease and the shielded arch with only slightly more difficulty. The problem would be generating the correct energy field. The bigger problem would be controlling it so she didn't accidentally blow a whole in the fabric of the universe. If she could just talk to the designer, she'd feel happier that she hadn't overlooked something vital.

She connected up the circuit board to the ones she'd already finished, then she jumped backwards as something started up. Energy streamed from the holes in the archway.

Hayley stared, knowing this was absolutely impossible. She hadn't even connected anything up to the energy ports yet. There was absolutely no way that anything could be turned on.

The energy changed, filling the archway with blazing light. Then it faded to a transparent sheen.

"What the hell?" Hayley muttered. A shadow appeared on the other side of the light, like a silhouette. It was the obvious shape of a person.

Hayley stared, seeing colour forming on the shadow. She peered, working out that there was something familiar even before the person stepped out of the light.

"Ethan?"

Ethan blinked at her. "You know me?"

"Of course."

Hayley stared at the machine. It was barely started, much less finished. There was no way that it should have opened a connection with another world, yet here was an Ethan who didn't know her. There could be no other explanation for his appearance.

"Hayley, what the hell was that noise? Are you alright?"

There were rapid footsteps down the stairs and Tommy entered the lab.  



	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Tommy had heard the noise from out in the yard, where he'd been running through some katas. A deep humming vibration along with strange crackling. He knew Hayley wasn't planning on turning anything on for some considerable time, so he naturally panicked that this was some attack of Mesagog's. The dinosaur had been way too quiet lately.

"Hayley, what the hell was that noise? Are you alright?" he asked, rushing down to the lab.

Hayley was standing in the middle of the room along with Ethan. Tommy guessed he must have come in through the tunnel entrance. Clearly Hayley had made more progress with the machine than she'd anticipated, because there was a glowing shimmer of energy across the archway.

"You!" Ethan said in a snarl.

Tommy hadn't even begun to ask what Ethan looked so mad about, when Ethan swung a fist at him. Tommy dodged and caught it with ease, pulling on Ethan's arm to bring him further off balance.

"What's with you, Ethan?" he asked.

Ethan replied by bringing a heel down onto Tommy's foot at the same instant as slamming his head back into Tommy's face. The surprise made Tommy loosen his grip long enough for Ethan to pull free.

"I think he's from another universe," Hayley said, stepping between them. "Ethan, calm down."

"Get out of my way!" Ethan said, "Don't think I won't kill you too!"

There was pure, undiluted hatred on Ethan's features. It was the same look Tommy had seen on Jason's face the instant he'd set eyes on Trent. This kid really did have murder in his eyes.

Tommy pushed Hayley out of the way, whispering, "Call the others." Then he looked up at Ethan, "I don't want to fight you. Things aren't the same in this world as they are in yours." He assumed Hayley would have the sense to stay clear. If she could get their Ethan here quickly, he might be able to talk some sense into his other self.

"You're just as dead."

Ethan leapt into an attack. Tommy blocked with surprising ease. This Ethan had learned to fight, but he had nowhere near the level of strength or skill that their Ethan possessed. So Tommy just blocked kicks and strikes, not returning any.

"Ethan, we're not enemies in this world." Another high kick, easily avoided. "I'm not evil." A punch aimed at Tommy's face, another at his stomach. Both were extremely sloppy. He could probably knock this guy on his ass in two minutes, but he didn't want to have to do that. In his world, this would probably have been the right thing to do, if not the most sensible.

"Ethan, will you just stand still and talk."

"He's one of the good guys," Hayley said.

"Yeah right. I've seen what you do!"

Ethan aimed a kick again. This time, Tommy grabbed Ethan's leg long enough to kick the other out from under him. Ethan ended up flat on his back, with Tommy's foot on his chest to hold him down.

"If we were enemies, do you really think you'd have lasted this long fighting me?" Tommy asked. The Ethan he knew might, on a good day, but this kid wouldn't have stood a chance.

"Whatever I am in your world," Tommy went on, "I'm not evil in this one." Ethan didn't look convinced. "I'm going to back off now. Let's try and talk things through like civilised people."

He stepped backwards, letting Ethan get back to his feet. At least the kid was smart enough not to try and attack him again, though he was still glaring with undisguised hatred.

Only then did the door to the tunnels open.

He glanced across to see Connor and their Ethan come in.

"Woah!" was Connor's immediate reaction, "So evil clone or alternate universe?"

"Alternate universe, we think," said Tommy.

"So, you're, like, me, from another world?" asked Ethan.

"Yeah. At least, Dr Mercer's machine was supposed to take me to another universe." The other Ethan was still glaring at Tommy, barely giving his alternate self a second glance.

"Dr Mercer?" Tommy asked, not even trying to hide his surprise, "As in Anton Mercer?"

Ethan gave a worried nod. OK, Tommy really needed to have a long talk with Trent. He couldn't quite believe that Anton would be able to build a machine that could cross dimensions. True, he'd been brilliant, but he was a biologist specialising in DNA manipulation. Tommy didn't think that Anton had anything like the knowledge of astrophysics required for something like this.

"Let me guess," muttered Connor, "Trent's been keeping secrets again."

"You know Trent?" asked the other world's Ethan. He finally seemed to realise that glaring at Tommy wasn't the best approach to this situation and he settled for surprised confusion as he turned to Connor.

"Sure. He's the White Ranger."

"And you are?"

"Red. The finest colour on the spectrum." Connor raised his wrist to wave his bracelet as evidence.

"Yeah right," muttered their Ethan. Not this again.

"Guys," said Tommy, "Not the time for that argument."

"You've found more Dino Gems!" Other-Ethan was staring at the bracelets on the wrists of Connor and his alternate self.

There was the sound of running feet in the tunnel and Kira rushed into the lab.

"What's the big emergen... woah!" She caught sight of the two Ethans. "So, are we dealing with another photocopier monster?"

"Kira, you're... here," said Other Ethan.

Kira glanced at each of the Ethans then at the machine, "Or is he from the universe where I died horribly?"

"Given that's his first action here was to try and kill me, that would be a good bet," said Tommy.

"But I thought you weren't going to get this thing finished for months," Kira said to Hayley.

"And I won't. But I guess I've done enough for their machine to home in on it."

Ethan was still staring at Kira, "You know about events in my world?"

"I've been to one other world," Kira said, "If yours has an evil version of Dr O as the Green Ranger ruling half the universe, then I guess it would be the one I visited."

"But how did you get there, if your world-crossing machine isn't built?"

"It's a really long story," said Kira.

"And one that will have to wait," said Hayley. The computer had started beeping its alert signal. Tommy hurried to look over Hayley's shoulder at the slimy creature being displayed on the screen. It looked like a strange combination of a fish and a rhino. He'd been thinking they were overdue on another monster attack, but Mesagog's timing was as lousy as ever.

Tommy turned to the other world's Ethan, wondering briefly how he'd tell them apart if they decided to wear the same t-shirt. "Stay here," he said, "and don't touch anything." He looked at Hayley, "Call Trent, get him to meet us there."

Then he stepped down from the computer, Kira, Connor and Ethan falling into line beside him.

"Ready?"

"Ready!" The four activated their morphers and began the sequence.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up. Ha!"

But, for Kira, the last "Ha" turned into a cry of pain. Sparks shot from her morpher, burying themselves in the skin of her arm. She still morphed, but as the Yellow Ranger, she stood clutching her arm, bent over in pain.

"Kira!"

"Are you alright?"

The others gathered round her.

"I'm fine," she straightened, with only a trace of pain in her voice, "I'm OK now."

"Sit this one out," Tommy said. He had one guess as to why it was Kira's morpher reacting like this and not any of the others. Right now, he could sympathise with the Other-Ethan's desire to kill his alternate self.

"I'm fine now," Kira said, and that time she did sound normal, but Tommy wasn't about to yield.

"You're sitting this one out." He headed for the tunnels and his ATV. Connor and Ethan headed for their raptor cycles. Behind them, Kira just stared after them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was the black Ranger. Ethan stared at his departing figure. All this time searching and it turned out that the person they needed to activate the Gem was the very person who they were hoping to use it to stop. That didn't offer a great deal of hope for their chances, though maybe he could find out where the team in this world had discovered the other Dino Gems. There was a good chance they'd be hidden in the same location in both worlds. And at least Dr Mercer had been right about Ethan having the potential to be a Ranger. He hadn't really believed that until this moment, seeing his alternate self transform like that.

Ethan turned to Kira, who'd demorphed now. She was clutching at her wrist and Ethan saw the red marks covering it. They were blotches on her skin, like someone had spilled a load of ink over her arm. The woman, Hayley, also came over to look.

"Are there more than there were?" she asked.

Kira nodded, staring at her arm. "These weren't there before I tried to morph." She pointed to three marks that were about half-way between her wrist and her elbow.

"How did the other marks get there, Kira?" Hayley asked.

"The prince attached me to some machine that tapped into my morpher. I don't know exactly what he did, but he caused the morphing grid's energy to flow into me without the control the morpher usually provides. It hurt. A lot. And it made those marks."

Ethan stared at Kira's wrist, thinking about all he'd heard of the dark prince and his methods. He thought of the rumours that were whispered about him and the things that had been confirmed during his time with Mercer. He thought of Zhane.

"There were stories about the Silver Ranger," Ethan said. "People said that the prince did something to his powers and then set him free. Apparently, he could still morph, but each time he did, it caused a power surge of some sort inside him. Then the prince kept launching attacks and sending monsters, knowing that the Silver Ranger would either have sit back and watch innocent people getting killed, or fight. Morphing was destroying him from the inside out, but he was too much of a Ranger to do nothing. The prince forced the Silver Ranger to morph over and over, and each time hurt him more and did greater damage, until his final attempt at morphing nearly killed him."

Kira was still staring at her wrist, at her morpher and the marks around it.

"So if I keep being a Ranger, it will end up killing me?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," said Hayley, "Kira, give me your morpher."

"What?" Kira's hand went to her morpher, not to removed it, but as though to protect it. Even after what Ethan had told her, she didn't want anyone to take it from her. He didn't quite understand it.

He'd seen Trent enormously reluctant to let his father try and fix some errors in the design of the White Dino morpher. He'd heard all the stories about Zhane fighting on, refusing to pass on his powers even when he could barely stand. And now he saw Kira, not wanting to give her morpher to another even when her life was at stake. At first, he'd thought Zhane had something of a martyr complex, but now he wondered if there was some link the morphers created with their owners' minds, making them hesitant about letting another person even lay their hands on them.

Hayley wasn't about to give up: "I designed that thing. I may be able to repair whatever damage the prince has done. Now hand it over."

Still reluctant, Kira slipped the bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Hayley. The woman took it to the main desk, where the computer was showing images of the Rangers fighting the monster. Ethan watched the warriors bringing the force of their weapons down on the creature and he knew that they had to find the other Gems somehow. Even without the Black Ranger, four others with that level of power would be a match for the Green Ranger.

"Where did you find your Dino Gem?" Ethan asked Kira.

"Right here," Kira answered, "Dr O had them here for safe-keeping."

"But where did he get them? In our world, we've only been able to find the black and white Gems and if it's the prince's DNA that activates the black one, we can't create the second Ranger we've been hoping to."

"He found them on his first dig with Anton Mercer," Hayley answered, not looking up from where she was hooking Kira's morphing to the computer, "He recognised their potential and hid them. He wasn't sure if he should trust Dr Mercer with knowledge as dangerous as how to create Power Rangers. That was about a year, maybe a little more, before Mesagog first showed up and destroyed the lab where Tommy and Dr Mercer were working."

Ethan had a few million questions running round in his mind about this world and all the differences. It was hard to imagine Dr Mercer ever working with some version of the prince. And if it was a dig Mercer had been on where the Gems were found, how was it that Dr Mercer hadn't found them himself in Ethan's world, since the prince wouldn't have been there to hide them from him? There was so much strangeness about this universe, where the greatest evil apparently fought for the good guys and where everything he knew was turned on his head. But there was one question that  
had priority.

"Who the hell's Mesagog?"

"Oh, just your typical, over-the-top bad guy," Kira said, "We've been fighting him for about eight months now, give or take a week. He's responsible for that thing." She jabbed a finger towards the computer screen, where the monster was currently under fire from four different Ranger weapons. As they watched, the thing exploded in a mass of slime.

"Gross," muttered Kira, which was obviously the same sentiment as the rest of the Rangers, who'd ended up covered in the stuff. "I'm almost glad I missed that one."

"Well, I can't see any obvious changes to your morpher," Hayley said, "but since the morphing grid acts on a sub-atomic level, it'll take further investigation to know for certain. And, since Tommy still hasn't bought the electron microscope I asked for, I'm afraid it could take a few days."

"At least you've got four others," Ethan said, "We've only got Trent."

Kira looked puzzled, "When I visited your world, one of the people I met there said that Andros was the only good Ranger left."

"Yeah," Ethan tried to think of the best way to put this and failed, "I guess it depends on your definition of good. Trent's not exactly evil, but he does like to fight and can get carried away." That was putting it mildly, but if these people hadn't lived under the tyranny of the prince, they couldn't be expected to understand the need for some compromises in morality when fighting him. Trent might do some things that could be  
considered evil in his attempts to stop the prince, but at least he wouldn't go out and torture innocents. Jason had had it coming anyway.

A strange, sliding noise made them turn round. A radio had skidded out of the still-open portal. Ethan guessed Dr Mercer and the others were trying to make contact with him and wondered why it hadn't occurred to any of them to send something like this first.

"Ethan? Ethan, are you there?" came Cam's voice.

Ethan picked up the radio and found the on switch. "I'm here. The machine works. The people here are building their own version but it's not finished yet."

"You made it to another universe?" The astonishment in Cam's voice was obvious.

"It certainly seems so. At least, I've met an exact copy of myself. Apparently Trent's around here somewhere as well."

"Have you found out who the black Gem belongs to?"

"That's the bad news," Ethan said, "Here, it belongs to their version of the prince. The good news is that there are three other Gems and one of them belongs to me."

As expected though, it was the bad news they were more concerned about. Trent's voice came through the radio in an angry snarl, "You mean that bastard has the Dino powers as well?"

"Apparently he's good here." There was a silence from the other end of the radio. Clearly that news took some thinking about.

One of the doors slid up, letting in this world's Ethan and the Red Ranger. Ethan was sure he knew that guy from somewhere, but he couldn't quite place it. Kira looked a little surprised.

"Where's Dr O?" she asked.

"He wanted to have a talk with Trent," said this world's Ethan.

"Probably wants to lecture him on the importance of being honest with us," said Connor.

"I think you're being a bit harsh on him," said Ethan, "At least if his dad did design this thing, we know that he was telling the truth when he said he didn't sneak into Mesagog's lair to get the plans."

Whatever argument was about to begin got stalled by Cam's voice coming through the radio.

"Ethan, we're getting some power fluctuations. Get back here now."

Ethan didn't hesitate. He ran straight for the arch and jumped into the portal.

There were lights all round him, forming a tunnel. He was rushing through it, pulled through by forces he couldn't resist. Half falling, half flying, he shot forwards, the lights streaming past him. There was no sensation. Ethan couldn't feel his body at all. There just the light. He began to worry that this was taking longer than it had last time. Maybe Mercer's machine had run out of power and he was caught between worlds. Maybe he'd be trapped in this tunnel forever.

Then he stumbled out of the archway at the other end, seeing the store room as it had been when he'd left, the others gathered around anxiously, and Dr Mercer still unconscious on the floor. His relief faded somewhat when he saw that Trent was aiming a gun at him.

Something hit Ethan from behind. Completely off-guard, he fell forward, the something falling on top of him. He looked round and felt the movement on top of him and changed 'something' to 'someone'. Since Ethan had been standing right in front of the archway, the only explanation was that someone had followed him through the portal. As this person climbed free of Ethan, he looked round.

"Kira? What are you doing?"


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

The teleportation light faded and Tori found herself alone in a small, dark room. So small that it was barely more than a cupboard. There were three walls and then a door that was pretty much the entirety of the fourth, with no handle. She pushed on the door but it didn't budge.

"Hey!" she called, banging a fist on the door, "What's going on?" She was about bang the door again, when it suddenly slid open and she nearly ended up punching the face of the guy who'd opened it. Tori blinked.

"Dustin?"

Dustin's response was to pull Tori from the tiny room and into a fierce embrace. He wasn't the only one. Tori recognised Shane as he threw an arm round them both in a tight hug.

"Guys. Oxygen."

"Sorry, Tor," Shane said as they both let go.

"It's just really good to see you again," added Dustin.

"Yeah. You too."

Tori looked around, seeing a long corridor lined with doors all closely packed together. Five of the doors had lights over them: one green, the rest yellow.

"What is this place?" Tori asked.

"Teleportation receiving bay," said Shane, placing his palm on a panel next to the door with the green light. The door slid open to reveal Zhane waiting calmly.

"The only place people can teleport through our shields," Shane went on, "are into these holding cells. It prevents any unwelcome guests."

He went to the next door, opening it with a palm scan again. As the door opened, Shane dodged sideways to avoid the punch that was aimed at him.

"Relax! It's OK," Tori said, hurrying forwards to prevent Xander hurting anyone. "You could have warned us," she said to Zhane.

"It's our policy not to mention this or any other safety precaution outside our base. If the prince doesn't know what our defences are, he can't find a way round them."

Shane quickly released the rest of the Mystics, all of whom had made the same assumption as Xander, believing themselves to suddenly be in danger. Once the new arrivals were all convinced they were safe, Zhane led the way along the corridor to a door, this one needing a palm print and an access code to open. They walked down a few more grey corridors. Tori saw the phrase "Astro Megaship" painted on the walls in a few place. Dustin saw her looking.

"Andros adapted the Astro Rangers' ship into a mobile command centre. He managed to add enough space for a few dozen people to live here and still have space to try and develop new weapons."

"Only a few dozen?" Chip asked, "I thought the rebellion was bigger than that."

"Oh it is. But the others are scattered around various safe houses or acting as informers and spies. This is just for the important leaders." Shane looked unbelievably smug as he said that last part.

"You guys are important leaders?" Nick asked sceptically.

"Hey! We're qualified ninjas!" Dustin said. It probably would have sounded more impressive if he hadn't been turning slightly to address Nick and managed to trip over his own feet. He stumbled slightly but kept on walking, standing straighter, as though daring them to comment. Tori bit down a snigger. She had to resist the urge to hug Dustin again for that. She'd missed these guys so much!

"I think Andros was desperate at the time," Zhane whispered to Nick, just loud enough that everyone could hear.

Before Dustin and Shane had a chance to complain, Zhane announced they'd arrived. Zhane opened a door to let them into what looked like a conference room. Tori went in, noticing that, despite their claims of important, Dustin and Shane stepped aside and didn't enter themselves. Maybe they just thought the place would be crowded with all of them. The room wasn't all that large. There was a circular table with some sort of projector in the middle. Around the room were various consoles and control panels. And there was Andros.

He looked shorter in person.

He looked at the group, surveying them critically. Where Zhane was warm and friendly, Andros was cold. Tori felt as though he was looking right through her, judging her unworthy. From the nervous shifting of the others, Tori guessed they felt the same way. Even as she was being studied, she studied Andros, taking in the weird streaks in his hair, the confidence of his stance and the harsh determination on his features.

"Sit," was all the welcome Andros gave.

Zhane took a seat gratefully, sinking into it with so much tiredness that it seemed he might have just run a marathon. For a moment, Tori saw some compassion break through Andro's harsh exterior. He patted Zhane on the shoulder. But then the kindness was gone, and the determined leader was back. Tori took a seat next to Zhane, the others also moving to the table, but Andros stayed standing, walking round so that he could look at each of them in turn.

"How did you get away from the prince's palace?" Andros asked Tori. The tone of his voice implied an accusation.

"With the help of Maddy and her friends," Tori answered, "They have powerful magic and were able to transport Maddy and me through the prince's defences."

"Magic?" Andros actually sounded surprised, "Show me."

Nick held out his hand and a small ball of fire appeared, hovering above his palm. "I control fire. Chip controls lightning. Maddy controls water. Vi... um... and Xander controls plants."

Tori wondered if Andros had noticed that Nick had almost said another name. She'd certainly noticed and she thought of Vida, who Toby had mentioned but who none of the Mystics had explained to her. It was fairly obvious to Tori that the group were operating with one less than they all felt they should have.

"You can use these powers as weapons?" Andros asked.

"They already have done," Tori said. She described the stream of water that Maddy had used to hold off the prince with.

"Then welcome," Andros said, "such skills and courage are needed here." But, despite the friendly words, his tone was as cold as ever.

"I will have someone find you all rooms," Andros went on, "and you'll be informed soon of your first mission. Or next mission," he acknowledged Tori. It was clear he assumed the meeting was over.

"There are people who need our help right now," Tori said.

"The whole universe needs our help."

"In the dark palace, I met a girl, Kira. She was exactly the same as another girl called Kira who was chosen to be part of the tribute. The Kira I knew first helped me out. She acted as my cover many times while I spied on the prince. But he found out she was involved in spying on him, so he tortured her to death. I watched her die." Tori had to fight to keep from crying. This wasn't the time to break down. "Then this other Kira appeared. I think she was from another universe, a world with a different history to our own. Apparently, in her world there are still whole teams of active Rangers. She thought if we could get her back to her world, the Rangers there would be able to help us. That was what we were doing when the prince found us. He would have captured me if it wasn't for Maddy's help, but I think he has Kira as a prisoner."

"Are you suggesting we assault the dark palace?" Andros clearly thought the idea was ludicrous. Tori knew how dangerous it was, but one Kira had already lost her life because of her. She didn't think she could cope with losing another.

"Kira's a Power Ranger," Tori said.

Andros stared. "Impossible."

"I saw her morph."

"So did I," put in Maddy.

Andros was silent for some moments. Tori thought he was actually considering this. The relief at that thought was nearly enough to start the tears flowing again.

"You say your magic got you away from the palace," Andros asked Maddy, "Can't you use it to get her out?"

"It doesn't work like that. It's not like teleportation. It's more like a summoning spell. My friends were able to call me to them, but it won't work in reverse and it won't work for anyone but one of us. Sometimes, it won't even work for us."

"I can't risk attacking the palace. Not for one girl. Even if she is a Power Ranger, if she's been the prince's prisoner, she won't be much help to us now."

"You can't just do nothing," Tori protested.

"The fate of the universe is at stake. We can't risk an attack at the place the prince is strongest and where his defences are greatest for the sake of just one person. Unless in your time there, you found a way for us to get in and out of the palace undetected, nothing is exactly what we'll do."

Andros glared at her, leaving no doubt that he meant every word of what he said. He was choosing what he felt was the greater good, but Tori could only see it as a betrayal of her friend. The worst thing was, she knew exactly why he'd made that decision. It was no different than her decision to stand and watch as Kira, her Kira, had been dragged up in front of the assembled slaves and beaten for hours at a time. She'd known any actions would only cause her capture and not save her friend. Likewise, Andros knew the chances of success were not worth the risk of a frontal assault of the dark palace.

But still, Tori couldn't help the tears that pricked her eyes.

"There's also the matter of Cam and the White Ranger," Zhane said.

Andros nodded, "It may be time we make our move against the White Ranger. If he has found a way to create a new Ranger, we need it. We can't leave a weapon like that in the hands of someone like him."

"And the fact that Cam's life may be in danger doesn't matter to you?" The words left Tori's mouth without her really thinking about it. Zhane stared at the table, not meeting her gaze. Andros, on the other hand, didn't seem at all ashamed of his lack of caring.

"Cam made his choice when he sold us out to the prince."

"He was the prince's prisoner for two months! Most people don't last two days before they start telling everything they know."

"It's not just the fact he gave out information," Andros said, "or even the fact that he must have told the prince something vital in order for his life to be spared. I call him a traitor because he refused to tell us which of our secrets the prince now knows."

"He didn't tell you?" Tori couldn't quite believe it and looked to Zhane for confirmation.

"No," Zhane said, "He lied and told us he'd said nothing."

Tori stared at the table for a moment. She thought of the Cam she'd known from back at ninja school. He'd been their own age, yet he'd been brilliant. They'd even been occasions when he'd lectured on ninja history or the code of honour. There was no way that the boy she'd known back then could ever be labelled a traitor.

"Are you telling me," Tori asked, "that Cam looked you in the eye and told you he'd told the prince nothing?"

"Yes."

"Then he told the prince nothing."

"The prince doesn't just let people go," Zhane said.

"He let you go."

"That was different." It was Andros who spoke up, stepping forward as his friend's defence.

"He let you go," Tori said, "because he knew he could torture you more if you were free than if you were his prisoner. Don't you think this must be hell for Cam? How long has he been living on his own in the ruins of the school with everyone he cares about assuming he's a traitor? Cam is the most honest person I've known. If he says he said nothing, then he said nothing."

There was a long silence. Then Zhane, still looking at the table rather than Tori, muttered, "It's possible."

"Anything is possible," Andros said. "That doesn't change the fact that Cam is not our priority. I don't want him to be forced to work for the White Ranger; his knowledge and skills would make the White Ranger too much of a threat. But finding this power source they possess matters a lot more. A new Ranger on our side would give us a real chance against the prince. A new Ranger working for the White Ranger would simply be another threat for us to face."

He looked at Tori. For a moment, she thought she could see compassion, maybe even regret in his eyes. "We will try to free Cam, but his life and his freedom matter little compared to the cause."

Tori nodded. She knew that if she were in Cam's place, she'd want them to get the power source first.

"The first thing we must do," said Andros, "is find a way to track Cam. All our searches to locate the White Ranger's lair have been unsuccessful."

"We could try scrying," suggested Maddy.

"What is that?" Zhane asked.

"It's a magical search. If you have an object belonging to a person and someone with a connection them, you can use scrying to locate that person. There are shields against it though, some strong enough that even a blood connection isn't enough to find them."

"It's worth a try," said Zhane.

Andros nodded, "I'll send a team to go and bring back something of Cam's from his base."

"I'd like to go with them," Tori said.

Andros considered this. "No. Your time would be better spent going over the reports you've sent us in case there's anything you feel needs to be added. Shane and Dustin can go. They'll know what sort of thing to look for. When we attack the White Ranger, I'll consider letting you join the team."

Tori nodded. She guessed that was the best she could expect.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen **

Kira looked up to see Trent aiming a gun directly at her head.

"Um. I come in peace."

"Ethan," Trent said, not taking his eyes or his gun off Kira, "where did we first meet?"

"Outside Reefside High. I was coming out of school and you were waiting for me at the gate. You asked me if I wanted to be a hero."

"Who's this girl?"

"She's a Power Ranger in the other world. She's been here before though and been tortured by the prince."

"I'm one of the good guys," Kira said. Trent didn't look like he was about to believe her. She looked round at the others, recognising Hunter and Cam, seeing a woman who looked incredibly familiar and a girl who didn't at all. And she saw Dr Mercer unconscious on the floor.

"What happened to him?" she asked.

"I hit him," Trent answered, then he asked Ethan, "Do you trust her?"

"I guess so."

Trent lowered his gun, but Kira was still a little preoccupied with Dr Mercer, "You knocked out your own father?"

"Better than his risking his life through that thing." Trent nodded to the portal, which was flickering now, at times the energy across the arch almost vanishing. Cam was busy at the machine, presumably trying to do something to fix it, but then sparks burst from around the arch and the thing went dead. The energy vanished completely, the lights and screen went dark and the hum faded to silence.

Kira looked at the silent machine and realised just how utterly stupid it had been to follow Ethan through. She hadn't even really thought about it. She'd just been desperate to find out what had happened to Tori and Maddy, wanting to help them if she could. It wasn't like she could do much in her own world until Hayley fixed her morpher. She hadn't really thought about what would happen if the portal machine stopped working.

"Can you fix it?" Kira asked.

Cam was inspecting the inside of the arch, which was now covered in scorch marks. "Probably, given time and the correct parts. Until then, you're stuck here." He held out his hand, "I'm Cam."

Kira shook it, "I'm Kira and I know who you are. We've met a couple of times in my world. And you're Hunter and you, I really feel like I ought to know who you are," she finished, speaking to the woman.

"I'm Elsa," she said, offering her hand.

Kira blinked in surprise, the features suddenly fitting with her memories. Yes, this woman did look like Elsa. It was just the hair and the fact that there wasn't an evil sneer on her expression that had prevented Kira from seeing the similarity.

She restrained herself for attacking this woman. After all, everyone who'd come from this world to hers assumed that Dr O was evil. Why shouldn't someone evil in her world be good here? Especially if there was no Mesagog here. Besides, this woman didn't exactly look evil. Kira forced herself to reach out and shake Elsa's hand.

"This is Vida," Ethan said, indicating the girl Kira definitely didn't know.

"Hi," was all Vida said.

"You guys go to the conference room," Trent said, "I'll wake Dad up and bring him along. Then we'll discuss what we're doing next."

"It's this way," Elsa said. Kira followed, glancing back at the machine. How had she been so stupid? Well, at least Cam would be working on fixing it. From what Hayley had said, he was even more brilliant than she was.

Kira glanced at her companions, seeing the red circle on Cam's cheek that the prince had left him with. She would be the first to admit that she didn't know Cam well, but silent young man was nothing like the cheerful, sarcastic guy she'd met. It wasn't just the scar that made him look different; there was a deep pain in his eyes.

"Jason told us why the prince let you go," Kira said, "I'm sorry." 

"It's done," Cam muttered.

"But maybe I could say something to Andros or someone, to make them understand."

"Andros is less likely to believe Jason than he is me."

"Jason's the worst traitor there is," Ethan muttered.

"No he's not!" Kira protested, slightly surprised to realise that Cam had said the same as her, at the same time.

"If it weren't for Jason, I probably would have told the prince everything I knew within the first month," Cam said, glaring at Ethan.

"That bastard sold out completely! He left the Rangers to share the prince's bed."

"And he's probably saved more lives from there than every one of the rebels combined," Cam insisted. "The guy's the greatest hero in this whole damn war."

Ethan and Cam had stopped walking and were matching glares across the corridor. Hunter and Vida didn't seem to care, but Elsa rushed between them.

"Let's not argue amongst ourselves," she said.

"Fine," muttered Ethan, turning and stalking ahead. The little group started walking again. Kira didn't say anything else, since it seemed a single word could start a feud. It was hard to look at these people and not see her friends, but then they'd say something that would seem so alien. She could never imagine the Ethan she knew hating with such passion as this one. Maybe she should just be glad that she came from the world she did.

Since conversation wasn't a good option, she looked around at the passages they were walking through. Kira couldn't help but think how similar they looked to the ones in Mesagog's lair. Maybe it was just that the walls were green and that this world's Elsa was here, but she kept imagining she was in the dinosaur's island. She wondered about the lack of windows. Maybe they were underground somewhere. It made sense, since clearly these people didn't want to be found. At last, they reached the conference room.

Ethan was already seated near the opposite end of the rectangular table. The room looked like a business conference room. Kira knew that the TV station had some like it for board meetings. There was a projector in the ceiling aimed at a large screen, and wires trailing across the table would let someone plug a laptop in. There was even a coffee machine on a side table. It was amazing to believe that this was part of the secret lair of a team trying to bring down an evil overlord.

Kira took a seat next to Cam, who'd chosen to sit at the exact opposite corner of the table from Ethan. The rest sat and there was an awkward silence for a minute or so until Trent and Dr Mercer arrived. Dr Mercer had a purpling bruise on his chin, but he smiled warmly at Kira and introduced himself.

"In my world, you were my substitute science teacher for a while," Kira said.

"Your world must be very different from this one," Mercer said, taking his place at the head of the table.

"Very," Kira agreed.

"So, why did you decide to come to this one?"

Kira began her story. She told them about finding Jason in the woods and his reaction to seeing her and Dr O, and how his first reaction on seeing Trent was to try and kill him. To her amazement, Trent just gave an amused smirk at that news. Kira went on, saying how she'd accidentally activated the prince's portal and ended up in the palace, where she'd met Tori. She told them how Tori had figured out what was going on and how she'd offered to try and find a way to contact the rebels. She explained how the prince had found them, how she'd fought him and how Maddy had stepped in when it  
looked like she was going to lose.

At the mention of Maddy's name, Vida sat straighter, looking sharply at Kira.

"Is she alright?" Vida demanded.

"I don't know," Kira answered, "I came back to try and find out."

"Let her talk," Mercer said, "you can ask questions later." Vida looked like she was going to say something more, but then she closed her mouth and waited. She was now looking attentively at Kira, desperate for every word.

Kira explained how they'd ended up running, and how Maddy had called someone on her phone. Then she said how the dark guards had found them. She told them about the prince creating an energy ball and her losing consciousness.

"When I woke up, he had me hooked into a machine that was doing something to my morpher," Kira said. Cam looked down at her arm. Kira realised she'd been tugging at her sleeve in an unconscious effort to cover the marks. She forced herself to stop.

"Then he told me he'd close the portal forever behind me and sent me home. I've no idea what happened to Maddy and Tori and I really need to know. They risked their lives for me. If they're the prince's prisoners, I have to help them."

"I got a call from Tori," Cam said, "just before Trent came. When you kidnapped me," he stressed the word, staring at Trent, "I assumed that you'd simulated Tori's voice somehow to find out my location."

"We did nothing of the sort," said Trent.

"She said that she wanted to meet with me but didn't say how she'd got away from the palace. I traced the call to some music shop in a town called Briarwood."

"The Rockporium," said Vida. Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"Yeah, that's right," said Cam, "How did you know?"

"Maddy's my sister."

There was a long silence as everyone let the news sink in. Mercer finally broke it:

"Cam, I think you should meet with Tori, and Maddy if she's there. Trent, Vida, you go with him and invite them to join us."

"Invite or force?" Cam asked bitterly.

"Invite," Mercer said firmly.

"Maddy will come," Vida said confidently.

"Tori may have already been and gone," Cam said. "She said she'd meet me today, but there's not a great deal of today left." Kira looked at her watch, seeing that it was already 10pm. "But if she's still in Bluebay Harbour, I might be able to find her using my satellite surveillance system."

"Please try," said Mercer. "Look, Cam, I know you're angry about the way we brought you here, but we really are on the same side. We want to stop the prince and your help could make that possible."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What exactly are we looking for?" Dustin asked, wandering round the bedroom.

"Something that belongs to Cam," Shane answered, "preferably something personal." Just about everything in the room must have been Cam's, but they didn't want to take something of Sensei's by accident.

"This personal enough?" It seemed Dustin had found Cam's underwear drawer.

"I don't think that's quite what Andros had in mind."

Shane picked up a photo of a man and a woman, the woman holding a baby in her arms. He guessed that the baby was Cam, the others Sensei and Cam's mother. This should be personal enough.

"So? Where are they?" demanded a voice.

It wasn't Dustin who'd spoken. Shane put a finger to his lips as Dustin looked across in surprise. The sound had come from the main room of Cam's base.

"I can't just summon them out of thin air," answered a voice Shane recognised as Cam, "This will take time."

"Then hurry up." A girl's voice this time. Shane crept from the bedroom, Dustin a step behind him. Then made their way along the short hall, to where a door led through to the main room. Pressed up against the wall, Shane glanced through. He saw Cam at the computer, a girl with dark, fairly short hair standing behind him. At the other end of the room was a guy Shane recognised from various reports and announcements. The White Ranger.

Well, they were supposed to be getting something to find Cam, no one could complain if they brought back Cam himself.

"Get Cam, teleport out," Shane whispered so quietly even he could barely hear it. But Dustin nodded that he understood.

Shane ran into the room, leaping to give the White Ranger a double kick to the chest. The White Ranger stumbled backwards, clearly surprised but not at all concerned. Across the room, Dustin had grabbed hold of Cam's arm and was reaching into his pocket for the control unit that activated the Astro Megaship's teleportation system.

"White Ranger, Dino Power," said the White Ranger, white light flying at him from nowhere, forming his Ranger armour. Shane tensed himself for a fight, but the White Ranger didn't attack him. Instead, there was a blur of light that crossed the room.

Dustin's control unit fell to the floor, but Dustin was carried by the blur. A moment later, the White Ranger was staring at Shane from beside a position beside the computer. He had one arm around Dustin's throat, lifting him off the ground and cutting off his oxygen supply. The other arm wrapped around Dustin's torso. Dustin struggled, tugging at the arm across his throat, clearly fighting for air.

"Let him go!" Shane demanded.

"Or what?" mocked the White Ranger. "Come on!"

The girl hurried to his side. Cam stood near the centre of the room, looking between Shane and the White Ranger.

"You coming, Cam?" the White Ranger asked. Cam didn't move. Shane took a step forward, but the White Ranger responded by tightening his grip around Dustin's throat. He couldn't tell which of them the Ranger was looking at beneath his helmet. If Shane made a wrong move here, Dustin could pay with his life. His struggles were so feeble now that he was probably on the brink of losing consciousness.

"Let Dustin go," Cam said.

"He abandoned you," White Ranger said, "Now you can come with us and fight or put your trust in the people who threw you out after you held their secrets under two months of torture."

"Cam, we need you," said the girl.

Cam didn't hesitate then. He hurried to stand beside the White Ranger.

"Let Dustin go," Shane said, half-pleading. He didn't want to think about what would happen to his friend in the hands of the White Ranger.

"We didn't come here to take prisoners," Cam said to the White Ranger. But he didn't listen. He reached an arm into the air. Above his hand, a point of light appeared and from that shot a green funnel of energy. A moment later, the group were sucked up into the funnel, taking Dustin with them.

"No!" Shane yelled.  



	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Trent stood sullenly in front of his father's desk. He had his arms folded as was at the wall as Anton tried to convince him of the stupidity of what he'd just done.

"We have enough of a war to fight trying to stop the prince," Anton said, "We don't need the rebels against us as well." Anton had in the past tried to form some sort of alliance with Andros' people. It was mainly due to Trent's less than tactful diplomacy that it had failed. The most recent discussions had ended with Andros declaring the White Ranger as much of an enemy as the prince. Anton was certain it was only the rebels' priorities that kept them from hunting for Anton's base. If Trent started kidnapping rebel soldiers, that was bound to change.

"Why should Andros get all the good fighters?" Trent said, "If you weren't so picky in your methods, our army would be the same size as his and you wouldn't have to be afraid of him."

"If we start forcing people to fight for us, how does that make us any different from the prince?"

"The prince would torture anyone. I don't hurt our own."

The sore bruise on Anton's chin was testimony to the fact that Trent was willing to break that rule. But he understood why he'd done it. Anton would probably have done the same if their positions had been reversed and it was Trent who'd been about to test out an extremely dangerous piece of machinery.

He looked across at his son, seeing the barely-contained hostility. Since Trent had first activated the Dino Gem, he'd been angry at everything. The Gem gave him powers and skills, but it also gave him the desire to use them. Its influence made Trent fight for pleasure. It made him enjoy the sight of others in pain. Anton looked at Trent now and saw someone he barely recognised and he knew that was entirely his fault.

All he'd ever tried to do was what was best for Trent. When he'd realised that the Dino Gem would be activated by Trent's DNA, he'd given it to him. He'd thought that giving Trent strength and power to rival the Green Ranger's would protect him. He hadn't even dreamed of the change that would come over Trent's personality as a result. And he hadn't done enough tests on the Gem to figure it out. He should never have given something so powerful to his son without checking thoroughly that there wouldn't be any side affects.

The monster Trent was becoming was a product of Anton's haste. He always rushed ahead without seeing the dangers. And now his son was paying the price.

"Give me the Gem!" Anton ordered.

Trent's hand went to his bracelet, covering it protectively. He'd barely been without it since he'd first put it on. Even when Anton ran tests on it, he always stayed close by, as though a part of him was terrified of losing it. The Gem had woken in Trent a desire for power and that didn't leave him easily.

Anton stood and walked round the desk, holding out a hand.

"Give me the Gem. You can have it back in the morning. Bringing the ninja here was wrong and you had specifically been told to invite people to join us, not bring them by force. There has to be a punishment."

Trent hesitated a little longer.

Then he slipped the bracelet from his wrist. The moment he'd handed it to Anton, Trent's whole body sagged slightly with sudden tiredness. The power provided by the Gem left him. As did the cold expression of anger. Trent blinked up at his dad.

"I'm so sorry," Trent said.

"Me too." Anton set the bracelet down on his desk and then he hugged Trent. The boy seemed all of a sudden to be so frail and helpless.

"Now go get some sleep," Anton said, "It's late. Or go draw something. You haven't had your sketch book out in forever."

Trent headed for the door. Just before leaving, he paused and turned back to Anton:

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too," Anton said.

He watched Trent leave. Then he looked down at the bracelet. However Trent might feel now about leaving it and its influence behind, he'd be back in the morning, desperate to have it back and reclaim his powers. Anton had one more night to try and find a way to stop the pressure of the Gem's evil on Trent's mind. One more night to try and find a way for Trent to keep his powers but to be free of the change that had come over him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How could you let her go?" demanded Tommy.

"We didn't let her do anything," Connor protested.

"Yeah," agreed Ethan. "She just ran through that thing before we could stop her."

They all looked for a while at the machine. It was now just a silent hulk of metal. No lights, no hum, no energy streaming into the archway. Half of the casing was still empty, waiting for the parts to be ordered to fill it. There was no way that Hayley would be able to open the portal from this end for some time to come.

Tommy reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, trying to get rid of the tired headache that was beginning to be too obvious. He was worn out, he had classes tomorrow that he hadn't finished the preparation work for and one of his students was once again trapped in another universe. At least this time it would seem that Kira was with the good guys in the other world.

"Look, you guys should go home," he said. "It's late and you've got school tomorrow. There's nothing we can do for the time being."

The teenagers muttered their reluctant agreement, but were interrupted by the annoying ringtone of Connor's phone.

"Mum, hi. I was just heading home," he said the moment he answered the call. "Yes. I know what time it is." Tommy could easily imagine the irritated phrases that must be flowing from the phone to Connor's ear. "Actually, I was working on an extra-credit science project." There was another pause for Connor's mum to speak, presumably expressing her disbelief. "It's true. You want to ask my teacher. He's right here."

Tommy mouthed, "You owe me," at Connor as he reached out to take the phone.

"Hello, Mrs McKnight. I'm really sorry about keeping Connor this late. We lost track of the time."

"You're not a teacher. You're just one of his friend putting on a voice. Connor's never shown the slightest interest in science."

"He's also not had college applications looming until quite recently. It's amazing how many teenagers will suddenly discover an interest in their subjects when their future is at stake. I know Connor hopes for a career as a soccer player, but even he is sensible enough to keep his options open. It's an excellent idea for boys Connor's age to think about the possibilities available from following different academic choices. My after-school classes are aimed to give my students an idea of where they could end up if they choose to major in one of the sciences."

There was a "hmph" from the other end of the phone line, suggesting Connor's mum wasn't too convinced.

Across the lab, Ethan muttered, "Man, that's some good bull." Tommy gave him a half-hearted glare before continuing to speak.

"Look, Connor might not be coming top of the class, but there are still plenty of opportunities for a successful career. It's late and I'm sure Connor wants his phone back so he can go home, but if you want to stop by the school at some point to discuss Connor's college options, I'd be happy to speak with you further."

"I don't think that will be necessary." She hung up.

Tommy handed the phone back to Connor.

"Mum will probably expect me to get to Harvard with the amount of time I spend here," Connor muttered.

"Well at least it should keep you from getting grounded. Now head home. I'll see you tomorrow."

The guys headed for the stairs, nearly bumping into Jason who was heading down into the lab. He took in their expressions and the machine, almost certainly noticing Kira's absence and her morpher still beside the computer.

"Did I miss something?" Jason asked.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is all my fault," muttered Shane. He was sitting at the round table in the war room. In the middle of the table lay the photo he'd retrieved. Beside it was Dustin's control unit, without which he couldn't contact them and definitely couldn't teleport to the ship. Around the table sat Tori, Maddy and Zhane, with Andros standing against the wall across from Shane.

"I recognised the White Ranger," Shane said, "and we had the photo. I should have just told Dustin to teleport out then."

"Why didn't you?" Andros asked.

"I thought we could free Cam." Shane couldn't quite believe that Cam had actually gone with the bastard willingly. He'd chosen the White Ranger over the rebels.

"The point of this mission was to find the location of the White Ranger's power source," Andros said.

"And Cam could probably tell us a lot more about that," Shane said. It wasn't exactly a lie. He deliberately didn't ask Andros what he would have done if he'd been offered a choice between Zhane's freedom and a slim chance at such information.

"The White Ranger must have some sort of hold over Cam," Tori said, "He wouldn't ally himself with someone evil unless he was given no choice."

"He's probably going along with him out of fear. The man's a coward."

Shane bristled at the insult to his friend, but he stayed silent. Andros wasn't a person who took kindly to being contradicted. It seemed Tori didn't care about that.

"If you'd seen him when he was the prince's prisoner," Tori said, "you wouldn't even think of thinking him a coward."

Shane decided to say something before Andros had a chance to, "I think the girl might have something to do with it. When the White Ranger asked Cam to go with them, he didn't respond. But as soon as the girl said they needed him, he went. I think the White Ranger may be holding others prisoner, using them as leverage for people like Cam."

"Do you know who the girl was?" Andros asked.

Shane shook his head, "I'd never seen her before. She was fairly tall, quite pretty. She had shortish, dark hair with a pink streak in the front." For some reason, Maddy sat up a little straighter at that comment. Maybe she'd just been getting bored of the meeting and was forcing herself to pay attention. It didn't seem like Andros had noticed.

"We'll keep an eye on Cam's base," Andros said. "If they returned there once to look for something, there's a good chance they'll do so again. For now, get some sleep. Tomorrow, we'll try our scrying technique to locate Cam."

The teenagers nodded and accepted their dismissal. Shane left the war room quickly, but only as far as the corridor outside, where he collapsed against the wall. Andros didn't care. Dustin had been captured by someone only marginally less evil than the prince, and Andros didn't give a damn about getting him back. All Andros cared about was preventing the White Ranger from giving powers to anyone else. The fact that Dustin was one of the most loyal fighters in the rebellion, deserving of at least a thought of a rescue attempt, meant less than nothing.

"It's not your fault, Shane," Tori said.

"It feels like my fault. How could I even think of going against the White Ranger?"

"You were thinking about getting a friend to safety. You couldn't have known how quickly the White Ranger would act or what a low trick he'd pull."

"I shouldn't have taken the risk. We should have just teleported back here used Maddy's powers to find Cam later. Then we could rescue him with half the rebellion to help us face the White Ranger."

Shane kept thinking about what had happened. The White Ranger hadn't even fought him; he'd gone straight for the guy who hadn't been expecting to fight. Shane kept seeing Dustin struggling, choking in the White Ranger's grip. Who knew what that bastard would be doing to him?

"Come on," Maddy said, "It's late. We should sleep."

Sleep? How the hell was he meant to sleep? The White Ranger could be torturing Dustin, a guy who Shane had looked out for since their first day at the academy. Doofus Dustin had always had Shane to protect him. Until now.

He would save him. Whether Andros mounted a rescue or not. Shane would find the White Ranger's base on his own if he had to, but he would save Dustin.

He had to.  



	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Dustin woke to a pounding headache and an unfamiliar room. He fought to remember what had happened, and recalled seeing the White Ranger morph and then being grabbed. After that, the memories faded quickly.

Damn it!

It was supposed to be a quick trip to pick up something of Cam's. How the hell did he end up getting kidnapped by the White Ranger?

He sat up and paused for a moment as his headache spiked at the movement. Then he looked around the small, rectangular room. He took note of the narrow bed, the small table beside it and the chair. There was a set of empty shelves on one wall and two doors, one built into each of the shorter walls. He was willing the bet that they'd be locked, so he waited a little longer before trying to stand in the hope that his headache would subside.

One of the doors opened. A guy entered in an outfit that looked a lot like the Wind Ninja Academy uniform, just with a different trim and logo. He had a mess of blond hair and was carrying a tray. His reaction to seeing Dustin sitting up and awake was to give him a smile and say: "Food, water and aspirin."

Sure enough, the tray he set down on the bedside table contained all those things. Dustin reached first for the jar of aspirin. If they wanted to drug or poison him, he doubted they'd have waited until he woke up. The guy waited around awkwardly as Dustin swallowed a couple of tablets and then emptied the glass of water.

"If you want reading material," the guy said, "I've got a couple of sci-fi novels and Trent's got about a gazillion comics. All Vida's got is a few music magazines and you'd need a PhD in astrophysics just to understand the contents page of anything Elsa owns."

"You got any freedom?" Dustin asked.

"Maybe. Look, Trent wasn't meant to be capturing anyone."

"Who's Trent?"

"The White Ranger. They were supposed to be trying to use Cam's software to locate the sister of one of our people, that's all. From what I heard, Trent got the lecture of his life for dragging you here. Even got his morpher confiscated for a bit." There was a satisfied smile at that last announcement.

"I thought the White Ranger was your leader."

The guy gave snort of laughter, "Like hell! I wouldn't follow that psycho down to the shops!"

"If you think he's a psycho, why the hell are you here?"

"Because these people saved me from a slave ship. I owe them. Besides, even with someone like Trent on the team, fighting the prince sure beats doing nothing."

Dustin investigated the food he'd been given. It was a bowl of cornflakes and a couple of slices of toast. Dustin picked up one of the pieces of toast and took a bite.

"You a ninja?" he asked after he'd had a few mouthfuls to stop his growling stomach complaining.

"Thunder Ninja Academy."

"We've got a Thunder with us in the rebels," Dustin muttered idly.

"Who?" The question was so obviously meant to sound casual, but it had come too quickly.

"A girl called Leanne."

The disappointment on the guy's face was so obvious that a blind man could see it.

"Someone you were hoping to hear about?" Dustin asked.

"My brother got arrested at the same time as me," the guy said, "but we weren't put on the slave ship together. I don't know where they might have sent him."

"I'm sorry," was all that Dustin could say. There were far too many times he'd heard people talk about loved ones they'd lost, friends they might never see again, family who could be anywhere in the universe, alive or dead. Those who were uncertain were the ones who were worst off. They couldn't forget. They couldn't grieve and move on. They lived every day with a tiny fragment of hope, meaning that every day the despair of loss hit them over and over. Dustin knew a little of what it must feel like. He waited for days, sometimes weeks between Tori's reports. Every time one took a little longer than usual, he felt the cold fear that maybe this time she'd been caught. Maybe this time, the message wouldn't come. And that was for a friend he'd known a brief handful of years. He couldn't imagine what the pain must be like to feel that unending uncertainty for a brother.

"It's not your fault," the guy said.

Dustin realised that if he'd just been learning about the guy's most intimate pain he ought to stop thinking of him as 'the guy'. "My name's Dustin."

"Hunter." 

"So, what happens now?" Dustin asked.

"Well, the rational people here convince the boss that we don't want to cause any trouble with the rebels so we should just send you home. And we make sure Trent's too busy with his comics to argue anything differently."

"And until then?"

"I've got some videos of motorcross races, if you want something to watch."

"You're into motorcross?" It had been a long time since Dustin had found someone who shared his passion, particularly since the Astro Megaship didn't come with a track. Maybe there was a bright side to this kidnap.

------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, why did you come back?" Kira asked, handing Cam the screwdriver. His answer was slightly muffled by the fact his head was inside the machine as he reattached various parts he'd fixed.

"Someone had to mend this thing," he said. He emerged from inside the world-crossing machine. "Besides, Vida wants to find her sister and all we know about her location is that she might be with Tori who was definitely trying to contact me. I couldn't just leave Vida wondering."

Kira was currently sitting beside the machine that had brought her here. The ground beside her was littered with tools and bits of machine, which she handed up to Cam when he requested them.

"But does this mean you're planning on staying with Mercer's lot?"

"I still don't know," Cam answered. "I want to fight the prince and Andros doesn't think much of me." He reached up to rub at his scar, but Kira thought he probably didn't even notice he was doing it.

"If it weren't for the White Ranger," he went on, "the choice would be easy."

That was something Kira didn't get about this world. Back home, Trent had become evil because Mesagog had done something to the Gem. At least, that was what they'd thought. Here, the Gem had been in the hands of someone good, but it still had the affect of turning Trent bad. Maybe it was just something that had always been in the Gem which was why Mesagog had wanted to use it.

The door slid open and Kira looked up to see Hunter and Dustin come in. Cam abandoned the machine in a heart beat, rushing over to Dustin.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Dustin nodded, "I think so. A little headache from the oxygen deprivation, but it seems my brain's still working."

"Wow," Cam teased, "I guess we should have tried strangling you years ago then."

"Just because your brain's hyperactive," began Dustin, pretending to take offence. Then he smiled, "I missed you."

"You knew where I was," the hurt in Cam's tone was entirely genuine. Dustin didn't answer. There was an awkward silence for some moments. Cam was almost glaring at Dustin. Dustin was staring at the floor. Hunter, Kira noted, was staring at Dustin. She let the silence continue for a few seconds more, finally deciding she could take it no longer.

"Hi. I'm Kira."

Dustin blinked at her. "As in, the girl from another universe?"

"Yeah. How the hell did you know?"

"Tori told us about you. She was really worried you might be a prisoner of the prince."

"Tori's safe?" It was like a lead weight had been lifted from her shoulders. All the worries vanished in a bright, wonderful moment when Dustin nodded.

"And Maddy," he said, "They're with the rebels."

"I should go get Vida," said Hunter. "She should hear this." And he set off at a speed that was nearly a run.

"Who's Vida?" Dustin asked.

"Maddy's sister," Kira answered, "They're really safe?"

"Yeah, Tori and Maddy arrived at Cam's base with some of Maddy's friends. So Zhane brought them to join up with Andros."

Kira hardly knew what to think, let alone what to say. She'd been so scared that something terrible might be happening to those two because of her arrival here, and now they were safe. More than safe; they were free. It was more than she'd dared hope for.

"So, you're really from another universe?" asked Dustin. "What's it like?"

"Aside from the dinosaur trying to destroy the earth, pretty good. You're a teacher at the Wind Ninja Academy."

"Him?" asked Cam, bewildered, at exactly the same moment that Dustin asked, "Me?"

Kira laughed, "You. And if that's not bad enough, you used to be a Power Ranger."

"No way," Dustin said. "You've got to be joking."

"No. You were the Yellow Wind Ranger. Pretty good at it too, from what I've heard."

Whatever further expression of disbelief Dustin might have made was stalled by Cam murmuring, "Maybe," while staring at the world-crossing machine.

"Dude, you realise you didn't actually say the rest of that thought aloud," said Dustin.

"I was just thinking that Mercer first built this machine because he was hoping to find a world without the prince's block against forming new Rangers. He thought if he could make someone a Ranger in the other world, they might stay a Ranger here. Dad and I designed the Wind Morphers, but we never gave them to anyone because we realised they wouldn't work. But what if we could get Dustin and the yellow morpher into your world, Kira?"

"It might work. Our Dustin's powers were destroyed in battle, but it's still worth a try with this world's morpher."

"So, what are we waiting for?" Dustin asked.

"I don't think Mercer should know," said Cam. "When he first had me brought here, he said he'd be willing to set me free if I couldn't activate the Dino Gem. The implication was very much that if I became a Ranger, he would force me to stay. Mercer is desperate to have a new Ranger on his team. If he finds out we plan to make Dustin a Ranger, well," he looked at Dustin sadly, "he might not be willing to let you return to the rebels."

"So, how do we do this?" Dustin asked.

Kira was thinking rapidly, running over possibilities.

"Can you get the invisiportal network to take you to your base?" she asked Cam.

"Given five minutes to figure the system out, probably."

"OK, Dustin, when Hunter and Vida get back, you keep them distracted. Go somewhere else and tell Vida about Maddy."

"How will that distract Hunter?" Dustin asked. Kira rolled her eyes, wondering how guys could be so blind.

"In my world, Hunter's got it bad for you," she said, "and from the looks he was giving you earlier, I think this world's Hunter is just the same. Give him a few smiles and sideways glances and he'll be too distracted to notice if this place exploded around him."

"You're not serious," Dustin said, flushed slightly with embarrassment, "I mean... I'm not... and he's..."

"He likes you," Kira insisted, then she turned to Cam, "You head for your base and get back as quickly as possible with the morpher. I'll stay here and, if anyone comes looking for you, I'll make it sound like you've just gone to the bathroom."

There was no time for any more planning. The door opened again and Hunter returned, a frantic Vida a step behind him. Dustin looked at Hunter, and then looked away, embarrassed and blushing again. Hunter noticed, looking nervous himself, presumably realising that his attentions had been spotted for what they were. Ah well, at least if they were acting like nervous school boys, Hunter wouldn't be paying any attention to Cam.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Someone barged into Anton's office without even pausing to knock, which left no doubt as to the identity of that someone. Anton didn't look up from his computer.

"Something on your mind, Trent?"

"Someone's used the invisiportal network."

"I know," said Anton, still not looking up, "Cam's gone back to his base."

"And you just let him leave?"

Trent had used to be so bright. Now all he thought about was fighting. He didn't care about strategy or planning; he just wanted to hit people. Anton sighed and looked up at his son.

"I made absolutely no move to stop Cam," Anton said, "which means he'll return of his own accord, confident he'll be able to leave again just as easily any time he chooses. Don't forget, Cam survived two months as a prisoner of the prince. Someone like that won't be coerced by any methods I'm willing to use. He'll help us as long as he believes he's doing it by his own choice."

"What if he doesn't come back?"

"He will. Someone like Cam can't be forced, but he can be persuaded. He'll decide to act without me pressuring him and this time tomorrow we'll have another Ranger on our side."

"I thought you were planning on sending Dustin back to the rebels," Trent said with a slightly sulky tone.

"Oh, I'll let him leave if he wants to go. But I still believe we'll have him on our side."

Anton looked back at his computer screen, which was currently showing him the output from the security camera in the lounge. Dustin was sitting with Hunter and Vida, talking, presumably about Vida's sister. The close proximity between Dustin and Hunter was obvious. Hunter probably didn't know he was doing it, but he was winning an ally to their cause. 


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen  
**  
Maddy was sitting in front of a wide, glass tray that was covered in a shallow layer of water. On the surface, floated drops of ink. Beneath the tray was a map of Bluebay Harbour. Maddy was beginning to wonder if she should have started with an atlas as absolutely nothing was happening.

She had one hand on the photo Shane had brought back from Cam's base. The other hand was dipped into the water, feeling the flow of her element. She was channelling her magic into the water, trying to create the currents that would guide the ink and reveal where Cam was. So far, all she'd got was cold fingers.

She wasn't surprised that it wasn't working. It hadn't worked all the hundreds of times she'd tried to find Vida.

"Maybe you should take a break," suggested Nick. He was sitting at the opposite side of the table from Maddy. Maddy looked up to where Shane and Tori were waiting anxiously, standing in the corner of the small room Maddy and Tori had been assigned.

"I don't think this is going to work," Maddy said, "I'm sorry."

Then Tori gave a gasp and Shane stepped forward, both of them staring at the water. Maddy looked too, seeing the blobs of ink floating together to form a small point in the mountains above Bluebay Harbour.

"He's back at the Ninja School," Shane said, already hurrying for the door. Tori was right behind him.

"I'm coming too," said Maddy. She wasn't going to be left behind. Particularly not when the girl Shane had described sounded so much like Vida. It was ridiculous to hope that her sister would be there, but Maddy would hope nonetheless.

Nick wasn't about to be left out and followed the other three from the room, towards the teleportation bay.

A minute later, a bright flash of light engulfed Maddy and then she found herself standing in the room where they'd met Zhane. Across the other side of the room was a figure pulling items off a set of shelves. He was frantically searching for something, throwing books and papers to the floor in his haste to look.

Maddy couldn't stop the surge of disappointment that there was no sign of Vida.

"Where's Dustin?" Shane demanded.

The figure at the shelves turned round to reveal a guy who Maddy would have described as geeky, if it weren't for the circular scar on his cheek. He was tall and skinny, wearing glasses and looking somewhat nervous at the question. This must be Cam.

"Dustin's safe," Cam said, "and so's Kira."

That was unexpected. It hadn't even occurred to Maddy that this trip might hold some answers as to what had happened to the girl she still felt guilty about leaving behind. Her mind was instantly filled with questions that there just wasn't enough to in the universe to ask. Kira was safe. It seemed impossible, yet Maddy wanted to yell for joy at the news.

"Are you Maddy?" Cam asked her. She nodded. "Vida's alive and working for the same people as the White Ranger."

Maddy could have collapsed from the sheer joy of so much good news coming at once. All those nights she'd lain awake worrying. And all those other nights when she'd woken from nightmares of monsters doing unspeakable things to her sister. But she was safe. Vida was alive.

When Vida had vanished without a word from Briarwood, Maddy had almost given up hope of ever seeing her again. She'd wanted answers so badly she'd have given anything to get them. But her sister back? She hadn't dared believe that was possible, because it would hurt too much if that hope ever got shattered.

"Who's Vida?" asked Shane.

"Maddy's sister," Nick answered.

"She's really alright?" Maddy asked. She didn't want to believe, because the pain would be too great if it turned out this was a mistake.

"She's busy asking Dustin everything he knows about how you got away from the prince."

"What the hell is going on, Cam?" asked Shane.

Cam took a deep breath and began in a rush, "The White Ranger isn't the leader. He and others work for a guy named Mercer, who seems so far to be a decent person just trying to protect earth from the prince. Mercer should set Dustin free. If not, I will damn well make sure he gets free anyway. Kira and I are just hoping that we'll be able to make Dustin a Power Ranger before we send him home."

"Dustin?" asked Tori, "A Power Ranger?"

"Scary thought, huh?" said Cam, "But first I've got to find the morphers."

"So it's true that the White Ranger has a power source that's able to make new Rangers," said Shane.

"Not exactly." Cam went back to rummaging on the shelves, but he kept talking, "Mercer has an item that will make one person a Ranger, but because it links to that person's DNA, they're not sure who it is. But, according to Kira, Dustin was a Power Ranger in her world. Mercer has a machine that will access Kira's universe. If we send Dustin through, he might be able to gain power there and keep it here. Ah ha!" The last exclamation was a result of finding a box at the back of one of the shelves. Cam pulled it out, lifting the lid to reveal three colourful devices.

He took one of them and then turned to face the others.

"Look, I realise you probably don't trust me, but I promise, I won't let anything happen to Dustin. Whether the morpher works or not, I'll make sure he can go free."

"I do trust you, Cam," said Tori.

Cam stared at her in surprise for some seconds. Then he smiled and muttered a thanks.

"And we've convinced Andros to let you come back," Tori continued. "You can be a part of the rebellion again if you want to be."

Cam didn't answer immediately. He looked down at the morpher he held, his free hand coming up to rub at the scar. The look of sadness on his face was almost heart-breaking to see. This was someone who'd become so used to being abandoned that it was all he knew how to be.

"I'll think about it," Cam said. Then he reached up and green funnel appeared out of nowhere, sucking him inside.

Maddy stared at where he'd been standing, desperately praying that he hadn't been mistaken. Could Vida really be alive? The mere thought brought with it so much happiness that Maddy thought she might burst from joy. But working with the White Ranger? If even half the things Shane and Tori said about him were true, Maddy couldn't believe that Vida would ally herself with him out of choice. He had to be forcing her. And it had to be the White Ranger who was behind Vida's disappearance from Briarwood those months ago.

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Tommy was woken up by a deep hum vibrating through the floor. For a moment, he wondered about earthquakes, then he realised he was hearing a machine starting up beneath him. He was out of bed in an instant and racing down to the lab.

The barely-built machine was alive again with power, the bright energy making a portal across the arch. He watched as shadows appeared: faint silhouettes of people that grew clearer with each passing second.

Then Kira stepped out of the portal. And Tommy realised he'd been holding his breath as he waited. Right behind Kira came Dustin. His looked about him in surprise and curiosity. Then his gaze fell on Tommy, who stood at the bottom of the stairs. It wasn't too surprising that Dustin's first reaction was to go into a fighting stance.

Kira stepped between, "Remember what you promised. No killing anyone unless they're slimy, scaly or look like someone in a bad Halloween costume." Dustin relaxed his stance slightly. Tommy smiled at how Kira managed to sum up most of Mesagog's creeps in a single sentence.

"This is Dr Oliver," Kira went on. "He's one of the good guys here."

"Hi," Tommy said. "Kira, are you alright?"

"Yeah. We're just conducting a little experiment to see if Dustin can become a Ranger in this world and keep his powers in the other one."

Tommy's face must have shown his confusion, because Kira added, "It's a long story."

Dustin was attaching a morpher to his wrist, staring at it. "So, how does this thing work?"

"You say 'Ninja Storm, Ranger form'," Tommy said, "and there are hand gestures, but those you should know by instinct and be able to do without thinking about it." He knew that it didn't always happen. He was sure all of the Turbo Rangers had made a mistake at least once with their morphing sequence. But he watched Dustin wave his hands in the pattern to activate his morpher, saying the correct words.

A moment later, there was a Yellow Wind Ranger in the middle of the lab.

"Sweet!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Now we just have to hope it stays working in the other universe," Kira said. She and Dustin stepped back up to the portal.

"You're leaving already?" Tommy said. "Kira, the guys are doing their best to stall your parents, but if you don't go home soon, your mum will probably call the police to organise a search party."

"I'm sorry, Dr O. We don't want some of the people in the other world to know we've done. I'll be back through tomorrow and it'll be to stay. Right now, we've got to get back before Dr Mercer notices we've gone."

Tommy guessed he couldn't really argue with that. He didn't know all the facts and Kira was clearly in too much of a hurry to explain them. "Be back first thing in the morning," he said.

Then he watched as Kira and Dustin stepped through the portal again. He watched as the energy faded from the archway and the machine went silent. Kira was once more stuck somewhere that he couldn't reach.

It was at times like this that he hated the bizarreness of his life. It would be nice to go for twenty-four hours without having to worry about monsters, giant robots or portals to other universes. He'd been normal once. What the hell had happened to that?

He wandered back to his bedroom, trying not worry about what was happening to Kira in that other universe or why she'd be trying to hide someone morphing. At least she'd have Dustin to help her if something went wrong.

Tommy had been a Ranger too long not to think that something would go wrong.

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"Oi! Dad wants to see you."

Dustin mumbled something incoherent and rolled over. He was too warm and too comfy to have to face the day yet. Besides, getting up in the middle of the night to go to another universe made the lure of sleep far too appealing.

Whoever was currently standing over his bed clearly didn't think so and prodded Dustin sharply in the arm. Dustin pulled the covers tighter around himself as a defence, murmuring something into the pillow, his eyes stubbornly shut.

"How the hell can you be so lazy?" asked the irritating voice.

"Practice," Dustin answered, still trying to cling to the last remnants of sleep that this intruder was driving away. The guy standing over him obviously realised that there was no way he would pry the covers out of Dustin's fingers, where they were clutched tightly around his body. Instead, he grabbed the bottom of the blanket and flung it back, exposing Dustin's feet to the morning air.

Dustin made a noise that was definitely not any real language, but which managed to be very eloquent in its protest at such treatment. He curled up into a ball in an attempt to get his bare feet back into the warmth.

"I could tip a glass of water over you if that would get you up."

"God damn, morning people," Dustin muttered, finally opening his eyes and looking up at Trent. Trent pointed at the clock which was on the bedside table.

"God damn, early afternoon people," Dustin amended.

"Dad wants to talk to you," Trent said, "I'll wait outside while you get dressed. If you go back to sleep again, it'll be iced water you get tipped over you."

"You really are evil," Dustin muttered as Trent left the room. If Trent heard, he didn't acknowledge it.

Dustin climbed from the bed and made his way to the other door, which led into a compact but well-equipped bathroom. He made absolutely certain the door was locked before removing his new morpher from his wrist and setting it carefully down on the shelf above the sink. Then he allowed himself to enjoy a long shower.

The water-recycling on the Astro Megaship wasn't hugely fast, so the showers would automatically cut off to prevent people using them for too long. Dustin had frequently found himself, during his first month or so with the rebels, ending up shivering with shampoo still in his hair, waiting for the system to reset. Now, he relaxed under the warm flow of water.

Eventually, he got out of the shower, towelled himself off and got dressed in his ninja uniform. He made certain that his morpher was hidden under his sleeve before he left the room. He found Trent waiting out in the hall, leaning against a wall and looking incredibly bored.

"Let me guess," he said, "You fell asleep again?"

"No, I just took my time in the shower."

"No one takes that long in the shower." Dustin just shrugged. "Come on."

Trent led the way through the base until the reached an office that looked way too normal. It was possible to imagine a regular business man working here, not someone trying to run a rebellion. There was a carpet on the floor, a desk with a computer and a pile of papers, and a leather chair that Mercer gestured to Dustin to sit in.

Mercer looked past Dustin and said, "Thank you, Trent," in a tone that implied it was a dismissal.

Dustin sat there, waiting for Mercer to say something to him. He tugged surreptitiously at his sleeve to be certain that the morpher was completely concealed. He just hoped it wasn't too obvious that he was hiding something; he'd never been any good at deception.

"Let me apologise again for the manner in which you were brought here," Mercer said. "I hope it hasn't given you too bad an impression of us."

"No. You seem a very nice group of kidnappers."

"Look, I understand your desire to return to your friends, but you could have friends here too, Dustin. I don't want you to do anything that goes against your conscience, but I don't think of Andros as an enemy. I don't see why you shouldn't stay loyal to him even if you choose to help us."

Dustin said nothing, he just thought that Andros was unlikely to see it that way.

"Dustin, I'm not going to force you to stay here, but I can ask. I think you could be a great help to us. If you want to go back to Andros, you're free to go. But if you change your mind, there'll always be a place for you here."

"Thanks," Dustin said, "but my friends will be worried about me. I really should leave."

"I understand. I'll give you time to say your goodbyes. Just come back here when you're ready to leave and I'll send you back to where Trent found you."

"Thanks," Dustin said, standing to leave. Maybe Mercer wasn't all that bad. Even Trent didn't seem as evil as the rumours made him out to be. Staying here would have its perks. Hot showers every morning. Hunter. Not having to put up with Andros sulking.

But it would also mean leaving Tori and Shane. And he suspected Andros would count it as a betrayal if Dustin decided to work for Mercer instead. Dustin reached the office door, certain that he was doing the right thing in leaving. After all, Cam and Kira didn't trust this guy to know he was a Ranger, how could he stay?

"Oh, and Dustin," said Mercer. Dustin paused with his hand on the door handle. "You don't have to hide that morpher."


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Cam had moved on from the world-crossing machine and was trying to work out what the next dust-covered creation was supposed to do. The room was huge and packed full of the various machines Mercer had built over the years. Cam could be here a year and still not work out what most of them did. The one he was currently working on appeared to take in DNA samples, splice them apparently randomly to create a sequence of genes for something new.

Cam could see why this one didn't work. DNA was a complex thing; it couldn't just be shoved together and expected to create a viable creature. Yet clearly that was what Mercer had been trying to do. Had he been intending to build an army of enhanced creatures or something?

He had one of the side panels off and was looking at the circuitry in the gene splicer. For someone who was supposedly a biologist, Mercer had an outstanding grasp of electronics.

"Hi." Dustin had wandered up behind him.

"Hi," Cam replied. He was trying not to feel too hostile towards Dustin. Given that just about everyone in the universe thought he was a traitor, he shouldn't really be angry at Dustin for believing the same. Cam knew that it had been Andros, not Dustin, who'd banished him from the rebels. But he still felt that his friends should have come after him or spoken up for him more or something.

"Mercer knows about what we did," Dustin said, "but he's letting me go anyway."

Maybe Mercer wasn't all that bad. The conversations Cam had had with him made him seem like a decent man. And he was trying to keep Trent under control. It wasn't his fault that the power had twisted the kid somewhat.

"Good luck to you," Cam said, still working on the machine. He did mean it. Dustin had been his friend before his capture by the prince; he wanted him to come out of this war alive, whole and preferably untortured.

"You could come back too, man. Tori's managed to convince Andros that you're not a traitor."

Cam thought about it. He'd been thinking about little else recently. He could go back to the rebels. He could prove himself to Andros. He could fight the prince again. But he didn't want to have to prove himself. After everything he'd been through, he shouldn't need to. If he stayed here, he could fix these machines and give Mercer a chance of freeing the earth.

If Mercer really was letting Dustin go, despite his apparently desperate desire for a new Ranger on his team, he couldn't be really bad. Cam knew better than anyone the dangers of rumours and stories in this war. Everyone labelled him a bad guy when he'd done nothing wrong, why shouldn't the same be true of Mercer's people? From what he'd seen of Hunter, Vida and Elsa, they certainly seemed good and seemed to believe in what Mercer was doing. Cam could make a difference here.

"I'm going to stay," Cam said.

"I figured as much," Dustin said, "Hell, even I considered it."

"Hunter?" Cam looked up and saw Dustin blushing slightly, looking awkwardly.

"And showers."

"So you want to stay because of Hunter and showers?" Cam couldn't hide the smirk.

"Not like that! Anyway, I just came to say goodbye."

"Good luck, Dustin."

"You too. Do you know where Kira is? I really ought to thank her."

"She left early this morning. She said something about her science teacher giving her detention if she didn't get home. We did try to wake you."

"Oh. Well. Bye then."

"Goodbye."

Cam shook Dustin's hand and then watched him leave. He didn't want to think about the odds of ever seeing him again. With this crazy war and Andros' secrecy, the chances of the two of them meeting were slim. And with Andros' hatred of the White Ranger, they couldn't even guarantee an encounter would be a friendly one.

Cam turned back to the machine, silently cursing the war, the universe and particularly the Green Ranger.

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Dustin knocked on the door of Hunter's room. A few seconds later, the other ninja opened the door to let him in. The room was much the same as the one Dustin had been given, but with a motorcross poster on one wall and a few books on the shelf. Along with the clock on the bedside table, there was a photo of Hunter with a guy Dustin guessed must be his brother, though they really didn't look anything alike.

"I came to say goodbye," Dustin said awkwardly. He wasn't quite sure how to act in this sort of situation. He'd never been very good with girls and it was actually harder to deal with a guy who apparently liked him. He wasn't prejudiced or anything; it had just never occurred to him he'd have to think about this.

"You don't have to go," Hunter said.

"Yeah I do."

There was a few seconds worth of silence with both guys staring at each other's feet because it was easier than making eye contact. Then Hunter stepped forward and kissed Dustin on the lips.

He didn't have a huge amount of experience with kissing, but this was definitely good. No bashing noses, no clashing teeth, just warmth and feelings shared in an intimate gesture. Dustin responded, his body taking over while his brain stalled and failed to comprehend quite what was happening.

After some seconds, they parted.

"Um..." Dustin said.

"I figured if I didn't do that now, I'd never have another chance," said Hunter.

"Um... I... um... I should go." He rushed from the room.

Not exactly the perfect way to respond to what had been the best kiss of his life. But Dustin had already made up his mind to go, despite Hunter. If he stopped to think about it again now, he might change his mind. Going back to the rebels was definitely the right choice for him. And he probably wasn't even gay, so staying with Hunter would ultimately be a mistake. After all, he'd only been flirting yesterday because Cam had needed the time to find the morpher.

He reached Mercer's office.

"I'm ready to go now," he said quickly. He didn't dare hesitate. That kiss was still too vivid in his mind. Damn Hunter! Why did he have to go and do something like that?

"I want you to take this with you," said Mercer, holding out a circular object, "it's a sort of communicator." Dustin took it and looked. It was like a disc or CD, but in the centre was a red button. "Just press that button if you want to come back and it will send out a locator signal. There'll be a place for you here if you ever change your mind."

"Thanks," Dustin said, "for everything."

Mercer shook his hand. It was hard to believe that this guy was the leader of the team that contained the White Ranger. All those stories, and Mercer was so amazingly normal. Even Cam and Kira's fear seemed completely unfounded.

Dustin felt the strange sensation of being swallowed as the invisiportal appeared around him, green light dragging him away from this place.

Then he stood back in Cam's base. Now all he needed to do was find a way back to the rebels. That was going to be tough. He didn't have his control unit, which meant he had no communicator and no way to access the teleportation system.

"Shane!" he yelled, "Tori! Zhane! Are you guys still spying on this place?"

There was silence.

Maybe he should have thought this through better. Well, he knew where some of the rebel operatives were. If he could get in touch with one of them, they'd be able to get a message to Andros and get him back to the ship. The problem would be getting to them and not getting caught. He didn't think anyone who worked for the prince had him identified as a rebel, but he'd been on too many missions for Andros to be sure.

There was a sharp pain in Dustin's shoulder.

He turned to see what was going on, but the darkness swallowed him too quickly.

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Jason had been walking. He'd been doing that a lot. It was partly from the irrational hope that he'd stumble through the portal Kira had found and end up back in the palace. Mainly, though, it was to avoid Tommy.

Tommy was trying to be nice and supportive. He was trying to be helpful. He was even trying to be friendly. And that just hurt too much. He saw in this stranger the man his lover should have been but never became. He saw in this Tommy the face of his own but was reminded every second that this Tommy would never love him the way his did.

Still, he had nowhere else to go, so he pushed open the door to Tommy's house and walked inside.

And he stared at himself.

Well, almost.

The man sitting on the couch in Tommy's living room did look enormously like him, but Jason couldn't help thinking that this other version of himself had let himself go somewhat. The man who walked across to shake his hand might still be pretty muscled, but there was definitely some flab under that t-shirt as well.

"Hi," said the other Jason.

"Hi." This was unbelievably awkward. Jason wondered if this world's version was sizing him up as well.

"So, um," said the other Jason, "You and Tommy, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. I mean, him becoming ruler of all evil I can sort of understand. But I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that other versions of us are together. I mean, I do love Tommy. I'd do just about anything for him. But, I've never thought about him that way."

It was true that Jason had never been interested in guys before Tommy's elaborate seduction. His block to break him had opened up a new side to both of them that had helped them out of the darkness... and then trapped them both in it.

Jason ended up sitting on the couch beside his other self, explaining about all that had happened in the cell. He hadn't really spoken about it to anyone else before. Technically, he supposed he wasn't now either.

"He does still love me," Jason said, "despite all the evil Dark Spectre put in him. There were moments when he'd look at me and all the hatred and anger would just disappear and I'd see the old Tommy again. That was enough for me."

"But how could you live like that for so long? How could just stand there and let him hurt people? The Tommy I know would rather die than serve evil."

"You think it was easy? I did everything I could to help those people."

"Except stop the person responsible."

"I tried!" It was the first time Jason had actually acknowledged it. He'd tried to kill Tommy. More than once. During the first year or so after Tommy's return, Jason had tried to stop him.

Tommy had always let him live. He'd brutally kill or torture anyone who stood between him and the power he wanted, but he'd show mercy to Jason. And, after enough time, Jason had stopped trying. He'd accepted that the Tommy he knew now would be the only one he'd ever know. He'd given up freedom to be with that man for the brief moments when Tommy would smile at him and a little of the former goodness would show through.

The other Jason listened patiently. He didn't say much, but Jason doubted he'd know what to say if their positions were reversed.

"So, what are you going to do now?" the other Jason asked.

"I don't know," Jason said, "I can't go back."

"What about the machine Hayley's building? I thought Kira went through that safely."

"Yes, but it goes to a base controlled by the White Ranger."

The other Jason looked puzzled, so Jason explained, "Most of the scars I have weren't caused by Tommy. I was captured by the White Ranger and, in four days, he caused me more pain than Tommy caused me in a lifetime. He is a twisted psycho, but he still believes he's on the good side. He thinks he has a _right_ to do what he does. And that makes him worse than Tommy ever could be." 


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

"I don't believe this. I finally get some company and it's damn sleeping beauty."

The voice invaded the cozy cocoon of sleep that was currently enveloping Dustin.

"Well I'm sure as hell not going to kiss you to wake you up."

Hunter? No, that wasn't Hunter's voice. This was someone new.

"Come on, man. I've got a nice bowl of brown mush for you if you wake up."

The darkness of slumber was still too much of a lure. Dustin tried to listen to its siren song rather than the irritating voice.

"If you don't wake up soon, I'm going to eat it for you."

The threat was enough to poke some semblance of life into Dustin's sleepy brain.

"Second thoughts, I'm not sure I could handle two bowls of this stuff."

Dustin's reply was an incoherent moan.

"Oh, thank god. And here was me thinking I'd be talking to myself for the rest of the century."

Dustin managed to open his eyes.

"Well hallelujah! He's awake."

Dustin found himself looking at a teenaged guy with brown hair flopping around his face, clearly in dire need of a cut. His red soccer kit spoke of the need for laundry, but his smile was friendly enough as he helped Dustin sit up.

Dustin looked around and regretted it. He was in a small, stone cell. Weak light came from a small bulb set into the ceiling. There was no obvious way in, just a small hatch in one corner, in front of which sat a tray with the aforementioned bowls of mush. Dustin was now sitting on a narrow shelf barely wide enough to hold his body. Another such shelf was fixed to the opposite wall, a sweatshirt folded at one end to make a pillow.

"Welcome to this luxury accommodation," said the boy, "Room service delivers three times a day, we have ensuite facilities," the guy kicked a bucket that was in the opposite corner from the food, "and the thrilling in-cell entertainment system of writing graffiti on the walls."

"Where?" Dustin managed to ask. He was awake enough to realise he must have been drugged out knocked out somehow, but not awake enough to form a full sentence.

"Take a guess," said his cellmate, "Here's a clue. It starts with D and ends with 'ark palace.'"

"What? How?" The last remnants of the drugged sleep passed. Dustin stared at the other guy in amazement, shocked and terrified by the suggestion. Then realisation hit him fully and he checked his wrist. Cold horror filled him as he saw nothing but bare skin.

All the effort that Cam and Kira had gone through, snatched away from him while he slept. All his hopes for evening the battle with the prince, gone. Dustin must be the worst Ranger in history, if he'd lost his powers after only having them for a day.

The knowledge that his morpher was gone was worse than knowing that he was a prisoner of the prince. It meant that the prince must have known what he was doing when he captured Dustin. And it meant only pain for the future. Dustin had seen Zhane, the energy of the morphing grid actually fusing his hand to the morpher, even as the sparks shot from it into his body, killing him with his own power. Dustin knew what the prince did to Rangers, and now the same fate would await Dustin.

The other guy saw Dustin staring at his wrist.

"Yeah, they took mine too," he said, "I'm Connor, by the way."

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"What the hell do you mean 'Vanished'?" Shane had to fight to keep his voice down from a shout.

"He appeared in Cam's base," Zhane said, "using whatever transportation system it is that the White Ranger developed. Then he just disappeared."

"What do you mean disappeared?"

"The surveillance went down for a second and then he wasn't there."

Shane couldn't believe this. He'd trusted that Cam would set Dustin free and apparently he had. Only Dustin could manage to be kidnapped a minute after being released.

"Could it be the White Ranger again?" asked Tori, "Maybe they let Dustin go to fool Cam into thinking they were good and then took him prisoner again."

"It's certainly possible," said Zhane.

"We will do everything we can to locate Dustin," said Andros, finally joining in the conversation. Up until that point, he'd been leaning against the wall, watching the others argue.

Shane honestly hadn't been expecting that reaction from Andros. He'd thought he'd be here arguing like crazy to get even a hope of a search party. Yet Andros had just offered without question and for a moment Shane was too shocked to say anything. It seemed Tori wasn't though, and her thoughts were on much the same lines as Shane's.

"So, when he was first captured it was too much of a risk to do anything for one person," Tori said, "but now there's a chance he's a Ranger, we'll do everything possible. And if we find the White Ranger's power source or the machine Cam used, will Dustin suddenly stop being important again? You don't care about him, you just care about getting another Ranger on the team."

"I care about destroying the prince," Andros said, anger rising in his tone, "and freeing the universe from his evil. To achieve that, I do sometimes have to make difficult decisions. The life of one person doesn't matter compared to the overall cause."

"Even if that person is a friend?"

It looked like this was going to turn into one hell of an argument. Shane wondered if he should try and get Tori to be quiet before she said something really stupid, but he knew there was no calming her in this sort of a mood. Besides, so far he'd agreed with every word she'd said.

It was Zhane who tried to sooth the raging tempers. He turned to Andros.

"Try and think how they feel. Imagine if it was one of our team who was missing."

"Our team are dead!" Andros snarled, "The prince murdered them."

"And now you want your revenge?" Tori asked, "You don't care if you have to sacrifice a few of your own, just so long as you can kill the prince? You demand absolute loyalty of everyone who follows you, but it doesn't occur to you to offer some in return!"

"I said we would be searching for your friend."

"Good. And when you've found some trace of him, I'll be in front line to rescue him. Someone round here has to show some concern for the people involved."

Tori stood and walked out of the war room. Shane wasn't quite sure if he should follow her. Andros looked mad as hell and was bound to still have a lot to say about the greater good and all that rubbish. Tori was bound to be in trouble over this.

But Zhane caught Shane's eye and nodded his head towards the door. He gave Shane a little smile. Apparently Shane wasn't the only one who thought Tori had made some good points. Shane stood and quietly left the room. If Andros noticed he didn't care. Shane paused in the corridor outside and heard Zhane beginning to speak.

"They've got the same devotion to each other that our team had," Zhane said, "It's noble and it's something you ought to spend more time cultivating in those who follow you..." Then the door slid closed and Shane heard no more.

Shane set off through the ship towards Tori's room. No doubt he'd have to do some damage control with her to prevent fireworks. She was upset about Dustin going missing again. Shane could understand that, because he felt the same anger at the unknown kidnapper and desire to punch someone where it hurt. But Tori seemed more angry now than when the White Ranger had first taken Dustin.

Shane reached the room Tori and Maddy shared. Shane didn't bother with knocking, just opened the door and stepped inside. Tori looked up from where she was sitting on the edge of the bed.

She was crying.

Shane stared, not quite certain what to say. Coming to calm down an angry Tori was something he could do; he didn't know how to comfort her when she was crying though. He thought of all the comments he could make about finding Dustin or how they were bound to get him back. But she wasn't going to be happy with hollow hopes.

"We're going to hunt everywhere for him," Shane said, "Even if Andros decides to give up, we'll keep looking."

"And if Andros is mad enough at me to stop me being part of the rescue team?"

"When have you ever let someone tell you not to do something? Besides, we've got Zhane working on damage control."

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When the other Astro Rangers had been killed, Andros had shut himself off from everyone. He became the strong leader who could lead hundreds and thousands in a cause. But he also became cold. He'd separated himself from those who followed him because he was scared to get close again. He'd seen his friends and comrades brutally murdered in front of him. He was scared of caring for anyone, because it hurt too much to lose them.

Andros was a brilliant strategist. It was because of that they'd managed to win several battles against the prince's forces. But there had been losses too. Each time a rebel was captured or killed, Zhane would watch Andros get colder, locked tighter into his shell. And Zhane wasn't the only one who saw it.

Zhane knew that many involved in this rebellion saw the distance Andros kept and resented it. They saw the occasions when Andros was forced to choose between a slim chance at saving one and the safety of many. Zhane knew why Andros made the choices he did. Most of the rebels understood too, at least on a rational level. But human beings weren't rational. They were emotional and passionate and they would fight like anything for friends or loved ones.

Tori and Shane would go through hell and back if they thought they could save Dustin. That sort of loyalty made teams stronger, it made them braver and, often, it made them better fighters. Andros had stopped seeing the strength that came from friendship. Now he only saw the weakness.

"Try and remember what it was like for us," Zhane said, "We would do anything for the others. Shane and Tori are no different."

"We were young and foolish."

"That doesn't necessarily mean we were wrong."

Zhane stood. Such a simple action shouldn't have to take so much effort. His muscles complained at the act of merely supporting his own weight, but then Zhane was standing in front of Andros, looking him in the eye.

"Even if I'd known what would happen to me," Zhane said, "I would have still gone to the dark palace for the slightest hope of saving the others. These two are willing to risk their lives for a friend."

"And I'm supposed to just let them?"

For a moment, Zhane saw the true man beneath the coldness. He saw a hint of what the others never even guessed at. Andros frequently didn't allow rescue attempts of rebels, because he didn't want to lose anyone else. He'd accepted the role of leader, but that meant he also accepted the guilt. For every rebel who fell due to Andros' orders, he would feel their deaths on his conscience.

Zhane stepped closer to Andros and hugged him with his remaining arm.

"Let them do what they feel is right," Zhane said. "Whether Dustin is a Ranger or not, let them save their friend."

Andros nodded. 


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Vida knocked on the door to Dr Mercer's office and shifted impatiently from foot to foot until she got the invitation to enter. Mercer was sitting behind his desk, working on something on his computer as usual. He looked up and gave her a friendly smile.

"I was wondering how long it would be before you came to see me," he said, "So, which is it? Do you want to go join your sister or do you want to bring her here?"

Vida guessed she must be pretty obvious. After all, she'd spent hours talking to Dustin about Vida, evening though everything he knew could be summed up in ten minutes. She'd heard Hunter and Elsa joking about how they didn't know she had so many teeth when they saw her smiling. But Maddy was safe and free. It was beyond hope and Vida wanted so badly to see her again. When they were little, they'd barely been apart for more than a few hours at a time. The past few months had been torture for Vida, not knowing if she'd ever see Maddy again.

"I'd like her to come here," Vida said, "but I'd have to see what she wants." This place had become home to her. Sure she missed Nick and Xander and especially Chip, but she'd come to like Hunter and Elsa. Even Trent could be tolerable company at times. And Vida really felt like she was doing some good here. Hunter had been half-starved and beaten when they'd rescued him from the slave ship, and he hadn't been even close to being the worst of the prisoners. She didn't want to leave this place behind.

But if Maddy had found somewhere she wanted to stay, Vida would stay with her. Maddy mattered more than Mercer or this place.

"Your sister will be welcome here if she chooses to come," said Mercer, "I hope she does. It will be a shame to lose you."

Vida guessed that was permission to leave. She hadn't really expected otherwise. Despite the rather unorthodox methods of recruitment, Mercer was good man and he wasn't going to hold her here against her will.

Vida turned to leave, but then a thought occurred to her and she looked back at Mercer.

"Did Dustin really become a Ranger?"

"I think so, judging by the morpher he had on his wrist when he left."

"Then the world-crossing machine will work to give powers to anyone who should have powers in this one?"

"I think so. Why? Do you know someone who you think should be a Ranger?"

Should she tell him? Mercer had been willing to help her find a way to get Maddy out of the dark palace. Maybe he deserved to know what Udonna had told her about the Mystic Powers. But their abilities were supposed to be a secret. She ought to at least discuss it with the others before she said anything.

"I was just thinking out loud," Vida said.

She did walk out then. She didn't want to stand in front of Mercer after lying to him. He'd done so much for her and she'd as good as lied to his face. And now she repaid him by walking away. Her sister meant more to her than anything, but Vida couldn't quite be rid of the shame.

She walked through the corridors to her room, where her bag was already packed. She'd head back to Briarwood for her wand and then she'd go and find Maddy with the rebels. Then she'd do everything in her power to convince Maddy to come join Mercer's group. This place was her home. Maddy was family, but Mercer could have been too. He looked after them as well as he did Trent.

Vida swung her rucksack over her shoulder. She looked around her room once more. Her posters were still up on the wall. She straightened the pile of magazines on the bedside table. She went over the shelves and stared at the rows of CDs. She took one to put in her walkman, but she left the rest there. She wanted to come back some day. There were no burnt bridges. Mercer would let her back and then she'd come home.

"So, you're leaving too."

Vida turned to find Hunter standing in the doorway.

"I'm going to find my sister," Vida said, "I'm going to see if she wants to come back here."

"I get it," said Hunter. Vida supposed he did. After all, his brother was missing without a trace. Vida hated this. She hated goodbyes.

"Goodbye, Hunter. Good luck with Blake."

"Good luck with Maddy."

And then Vida had walked past him, heading for Mercer's lab so she could use the invisportal network. Otherwise, it would be a long walk to Briarwood. She kept telling herself it wasn't goodbye. She'd see this place and these people again.

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Jason was in the kitchen with his other self. They were having a cup of coffee and trying to work out how Jason should get by in this world without one of them being arrested for identity fraud.

The situation was still weird, but Jason was getting the hang of it. He thought that the other Jason was too, since there were definitely a lot less awkward pauses in the middle of their conversations. Given that there was as much silence as speech, that said a lot about how things had started.

The coffee cups on the table started to vibrate. The hum that travelled up through the floor reached their ears and then both Jason's were on their feet, rushing to the stairs down into the lab.

No one else was in. Tommy was teaching and Hayley was at the café, after complaining about how she'd been neglecting it for the machine. The two Jasons stood at the bottom of the stairs as the machine came to life, the portal shimmering with energy. Jason hadn't actually managed to see this thing working. The problem with taking long walks to avoid being with Tommy was that it meant he also avoided seeing people come through from his universe.

Jason stared at the boy who stepped out. He was dressed in black leather with a crimson trim. He also looked amazingly familiar.

"Do I know you?" Jason asked. The boy looked between the two Jasons, somewhat awkwardly.

"Um... I was kinda there when Trent kidna..."

Jason didn't let the boy finish his sentence. The memory had returned and Jason punched the guy in the face. The boy went sprawling, reaching up to rub his jaw. The other Jason quickly stepped between them.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded.

"It's fine," said Jason, "I'm done." He turned and headed back up the stairs. He didn't want to be in the same room as that kid any longer than necessary.

"Are you OK?" the other Jason was asking.

"Yeah. On the whole I think I got pretty lucky," replied the boy, "I'd have thought he'd try to kill me."

Jason was tempted. But the kid hadn't really done anything much. It had been Trent who'd captured him, Trent who'd tortured him and Trent who'd damn near killed him. Jason couldn't even be sure that this boy even knew what the White Ranger had been doing to his prisoner. Jason gladly kill Trent, preferably slowly, but the kid down in the lab would get nothing worse than a bruise.

Maybe if it turned out the kid had stood and watched while Trent tortured him, Jason would change his mind.

He went back to the kitchen and downed the rest of his coffee. It was still too hot, but not scalding. He'd just stay up here for a while and let the other Jason deal with whatever it was this kid wanted.

"Look, I'm sorry."

Of course, that idea was dependent on the kid staying down in the lab.

"Go away," Jason said, "Do whatever it was you came to this universe to do and then get the hell out."

"We were supposed to capture you to use as leverage against the prince," the boy said, seriously not helping his long-term survival prospects, "but none of us knew what Trent was planning to do to you."

"Do you still work with the White Ranger?" Jason asked.

The kid inspected the kitchen floor very carefully as he answered, "Yes."

"Then get the hell out."

"I really am sorry."

He looked it too, but if the kid still fought beside the White Ranger, he couldn't be all that remorseful. Jason almost wanted to punch him again, for having the nerve to stand there and act like an apology was all that was needed. But the other Jason was standing behind the kid. It was weird, but Jason didn't want to give a bad impression of himself to... himself.

"Why are you here, kid?"

"Dr Mercer was wondering if you guys might know more people who ought to be Rangers in our world but aren't. If they come through like Dustin did then maybe we'll be able to get enough Rangers to fight the prince." The kid looked awkward again. Presumably it had just occurred to him that he was suggesting killing Jason's lover. Thankfully, the other Jason stepped in.

"I know Tommy was planning on compiling a history of the Rangers," he said, "I'm not sure how far he got with it, but I'm sure he'll be able to help you find most of the people who've ever been Rangers here."

"That would be great. Is he here?"

"He's at work." The other Jason glanced at Jason. "You'd probably be best going back to your world now and coming back this evening."

"Yeah. That's probably a good idea." The kid gave Jason one more apology, then headed back down to the lab with the other Jason.

A minute later, they both came back to the kitchen.

"I thought you were leaving," said Jason.

"Yeah, so did I. The portal seems to have closed."

Now that the kid mentioned it, Jason realised that the background hum had died out. The machine must have turned itself off. And Hayley was nowhere near ready for the portal to be opened from this side.

"It looks like we'll have to wait for them to open it again," said the other Jason, his thoughts clearly following the same lines.

"Just great," muttered Jason, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" asked the other Jason.

"I'm not going to stay around here with a guy who's psychopathic friend tortured and tried to kill me."

"Trent's not my friend," the kid called after him. Jason had thought for a moment that the kid had been about to deny Trent being a psycho. It was probably a good thing he hadn't. Jason really wouldn't have wanted to explain the dead body to Tommy. 


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Vida began to feel like she was home as she walked through the forest, the squelch of slightly damp, old leaves under her feet, the scent of the forest around her, the distant calling of birds. This was the place she'd discovered her magic. This was where she'd discovered she had a purpose in this world. This was where she discovered who she really was. It was calm and peaceful, despite all the stories about it.

Something appeared in front of her face.

Vida leapt backwards slightly in surprise. Then she realised that Phineas had swung down from the branches of the tree she was under. A troblin face appearing out of the air inches away from her own was not a pleasant sight.

"Did I scare you?" he asked jumping down to the ground.

"No," Vida snarled. She'd almost been looking forward to seeing Phineas again, but him startling her like that was not the best greeting.

"You're alive. Wonderful! Hug?"

"No."

"Madison and the others have gone," Phineas said.

"I know," Vida started walking again, "I'm going to pick up my wand and then I'm probably going to join them."

"We all thought you were dead. It's great to see you."

"Thanks."

Vida walked through the forest, Phineas beside her. She would be seeing Maddy again soon. It was hard to contain all the happiness that that brought. Even Phineas didn't look too ugly after so much time away.

They reached Rootcore fairly quickly. Udonna and Claire were as surprised as Phineas to see her. Claire did hug her and Vida didn't think anything she might have said would have prevented it. But Vida was pleased to see them too and so wasn't about to object.

"Where have you been, child?" asked Udonna, "We've been so worried. Particularly Madison."

"It's a long story," Vida said. They sat around the main table and Vida explained what had happened. She explained about Trent kidnapping her and how Mercer had offered her a place with him to fight the prince. She told Udonnna about how she'd refused and started to come home, only to learn that Maddy had volunteered to be a part of the tribute and been accepted. She explained how she'd returned to Mercer so she could find a way to get her sister home again.

And she told how she'd learned of Maddy's escape.

"You should have come and seen us," Udonna said.

"I was worried you'd talk me out of it. I had to fight the prince to save Maddy."

"Madison only went to the prince's palace because she thought you'd been taken. We had the means to bring her home any time she called."

That information was a cold shock. She'd thought she'd be saving Maddy, but it seemed her sister hadn't actually needed saving. That didn't dismiss all the good she'd done with Mercer, but it seriously undermined the point. She thought about how many nights she'd lain awake, terrified of what might be happening to Maddy. And now she learned that she could have ended that fear instantly if she'd just finished her journey home when she'd intended.

She'd thought she was being the brave hero. Instead, she was being a fool.

"Here." Udonna had brought out Vida's wand and set it on the table. Vida took it, smiling at the familiar feel of it in her hand.

She could start undoing her mistake now. She could go join Maddy and apologise and they'd be together again, like they should be. But first, there was something that she should do.

She explained to Udonna about the other world and about how Dustin had become a Ranger. This could be the very thing they needed. If Udonna agreed, this could make them all Rangers.

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"That should just about do it," said Cam. He'd just replaced all the power cells. Again. This machine generated so much energy and some of that kept feeding back from the portal into the machine again. The explosion had been fairly impressive as all the power cells had blown at once. If they kept using this machine for prolonged periods of time, they'd end up burning through Mercer's entire back-up stock and probably stranding someone in the other universe.

Mercer was waiting somewhat nervously as Cam threw the switch to turn the machine on again. It hummed into life and the now-familiar energy streamed into the archway to make the portal.

They stood waiting for a few minutes, hoping for something to happen. It was always possible that Hunter had wandered away from the machine in the other universe and didn't know the way home was now open.

Eventually though, they saw the sillouhette of an approaching figure. Then they saw another behind it.

Hunter emerged from the machine, moving quickly away from the arch as the other person arrived. It was instinct for Cam to move into a fighting stance, even though everything he'd heard from the other universe said that this man wasn't an enemy.

"It's alright, I'm not here to hurt anyone," said the man, "I'm Tommy Oliver."

Mercer managed to control himself enough to shake hands with the man and introduce himself. Oliver couldn't suppress a grin and stated that they'd been old friends in the other world. Cam managed to hide his discomfort by shutting down the machine. When he turned back to Oliver, he was able to hide the sickening fear that had settled in his stomach at the sight of one who looked just like the man who'd tortured him for two months.

Mercer suggested they go to the conference room and he summoned Trent and Elsa to join them. Cam wondered why Vida wasn't going to be there.

It seemed that Oliver had brought a disk with him, which Mercer put into a computer hooked up to the room's projector. This place was getting more and more like a business office rather than a secret base.

"There's a short summary video of Ranger history," said Oliver, "and a database of Rangers and Ranger allies. It includes information about how and when they became Rangers, some of their major exploits and their current locations. Of course, this is all for my world and I don't know how much of it will still be relevant."

"Just knowing who we should contact is a start," said Mercer. The database was being projected onto a screen at the end of the room. Cam watched as information was displayed, photos in the corner with fields of data printed beside them. Person after person appeared on the screen as those who'd helped the Ranger cause in the other world.

It seemed enormously unfair that this world only managed to achieve the prince, Andros and Trent as Rangers. And now Dustin.

Cam blinked in surprise, suddenly realising that his own face was smiling out from the screen, devoid of scar. Then the display moved on to the next record.

"I know her," said Trent, "she teaches science at Reefside High."

Cam looked at the record now being displayed and Mercer paused the show on it. Hayley Viktor.

"She works me and the Dino Thunder Rangers," said Oliver.

"We should be able to contact her in this world. Do you think she'd help us?"

"Probably. She's not a Ranger but she's extremely intelligent and I'm sure she'll want to do something to stop the prince."

"The fate of the universe in the hands of a high school science teacher," muttered Cam, "that's brilliant."

"And what's wrong with that?" asked Oliver, clearly taking offence at the sarcasm in Cam's tone.

Hunter leaned over to Cam, "He's a science teacher back in his world."

"I'll go and speak to this Haley in person," said Mercer, "You should work through this database and see if you can locate anyone else in this world."

"I'd like to come with you," said Oliver, "in case they want to know more about my universe."

"You really think it would be a good idea for you to be seen anywhere in this world?" asked Cam.

"Probably not. But I wasn't necessarily thinking of being seen."

Oliver stood there in front of them and just faded away. One moment he was there, the next he wasn't. Cam stared in shock at the empty space where the man had been. Invisibility! This was unbelievable.

"How come your power's better than mine?" complained Trent.

"I guess I just got lucky," said Oliver, reappearing. He turned back to Mercer, "We should probably bring a copy of the history video so that they can learn something about my universe before I show myself."

"I still don't think it's a good idea," said Mercer.

"I've never let that stop me doing anything."

So it was agreed: Mercer would look up Hayley's address from the PTA information, then he and Oliver would pay her a visit.

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"I only need one of you to have a functioning tongue," the prince snarled in Connor's direction. Connor didn't really think the prince would go through with that threat though, since he didn't know which of them would break first. It wouldn't be any use to him to have a prisoner willing to talk to stop the pain, but unable to do so.

So Connor would keep talking. He couldn't stop the prince hurting Dustin, but just maybe he could distract Dustin a little. Connor had spent far too much time in this room, able to think of nothing but the pain being inflicted on his body. He'd tried to focus on anything else, but his mind kept returning to the agony. Maybe he could do something to keep Dustin's thoughts elsewhere.

They were in the prince's torture chamber, both teenagers chained up while the prince practiced his skills. The central table was covered in strange items, some of which Connor had experienced, some of which he really, really didn't want to. And there, beside all the instruments of torture, lay their two morphers. All the power Connor could want was right in front of him, but Connor had no hope of getting to it.

The prince was standing by the table now, but he wasn't interested in the morphers. Connor had heard the stories about Zhane and wondered how long it would be before he suffered the same fate. For now though, the prince was content with other methods. He set down on the table a knife, covered with Dustin's blood from the hundreds of small cuts that were now dripping crimson onto the floor.

"Have you ever heard the expression, 'rubbing salt in the wound'?" asked the prince, turning his attention back to Dustin and picking up a glass bottle, "Well, I've got something that works a lot better than salt. Acid. Not very strong. This would probably have nothing worse than irritant printed on the bottle if it were in a high school science lab."

The prince picked up a small brush and ticked it in the transparent liquid.

"You're certainly irritating me," said Dustin through clenched teeth.

"Dude," said Connor, "you've got all the insults in the universe available to you, and you call him irritating?"

"It's hard to be insulting," said Dustin, "when someone's... gah!... torturing you."

The prince had started rubbing the brush along the shallow cuts he'd earlier adorned Dustin's torso with.

Connor had so far been untouched. Presumably the prince was hoping seeing a friend suffer would be more likely to make him talk than being tortured himself. That was the only explanation Connor could think of for suddenly gaining a roommate.

"You should at least question his parentage or sexuality," Connor suggested.

"We already know his sexuali... argh!" The last word ended in a scream as the prince tipped about a quarter of the bottle over Dustin's back.

"You will tell me all I want to know," the prince said, "It's only a matter of time. No one has managed to stay silent forever."

"Except Cam," responded Dustin, his voice laboured with the pain.

That was clearly not the right thing to say. The prince's expression went from mildly amused at their resistance, to absolutely furious. It was as though a switch had flipped inside him and his mood had flashed to a new setting. He seized hold of Dustin's hair, yanking his head back and glaring into his eyes from a few centimetre's distance.

"How did you become a Ranger?" he demanded.

"The blue fairy showed up," said Dustin, "and made me into a real boy."

The prince let go of Dustin's hair and instead started brushing his hand against his forehead in something like a caress. The anger had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. He smiled faintly down at Dustin, who tried to pull his head away. The attempt was rather hampered by the chains holding his upstretched arms to the ceiling and the other set which held his ankles to a ring in the floor.

"The mind is a curious thing," said the prince. "We humans use such a small percentage of our brain. People can suffer enormous damage to it and still function almost normally. But the tiniest point of damage in other place can render someone a vegetable, or kill them."

The prince wandered away from Dustin. Connor wondered if there was a point to this little ramble and was rather worried what it might be. Dustin looked more scared right now than he had been when he'd seen the row of torture implements laid out when they were brought to this room.

"Unlike most others Dark Spectre has given powers to," the prince went on, "I haven't had centuries to practice." He was at the edge of the room now and picked up what looked like a long piece of wood that had been leaning against the wall. "I didn't want to risk irreparably damaging the mind of my only subject of interrogation. Now, it seems I don't have that worry." He smiled at Dustin, holding up the piece of wood, a staff about five foot long with no decoration or markings.

"Tell me how you managed to become a Ranger," said the prince one more time.

"Go to hell!" was Dustin's response.

The prince raised the staff. Bright energy, like lightning, shot from it, striking Dustin in the chest. Dustin screamed, his head tilting backwards, his body straining against the chains. A moment later, the energy vanished and Dustin slumped. For a moment, Connor thought he was dead, he hung there so still.

The Dustin stood, staring ahead at the prince, his eyes filled with a strange glow.

"Tell me how you managed to become a Ranger," the prince repeated.

"I went through a portal to another world," Dustin answered, his voice empty of emotion, empty of anything.

"No! Dustin, fight it! He's the bad guy, remember?"

But Dustin didn't hear him. Dustin heard nothing but the prince's instructions.

"Tell me how you found this portal." 


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Tommy kept glancing down at his body, making sure he was still invisible. This whole thing was rapidly being added to his list of things that had seemed like such a good idea at the time. Back on the other side of the portal, he'd been sure he would be safe, given that his powers allowed him to hide from all the people who wanted to kill him. It was a lot harder to be confident now that he saw the signs of his alter-ego's rule.

On the surface, Reefside looked much the same. People were going about their daily lives. Those that they walked past were talking, even laughing, but there was an unmistakable edge to it. And Tommy would frequently look up to see his own face glaring down from billboards with such slogans as "Obedience Means Life" or "Traitors will Die." He saw another poster, this one on the side of a bus shelter, with the phrase "Do Not Resist" and a picture of mutilated bodies in such graphic detail that it made him want to vomit.

But it wasn't all bad. He smiled as he noticed that someone had scrawled "Go to Hell" over an advert describing the rewards for turning in those who caused unrest.

"Are you still there?" Mercer asked in a whisper.

"I'm here," Tommy replied.

"This is the place."

The house was fairly shabby, but it was a good size. Mercer crossed a small and rather unkempt front garden to get to the door, Tommy walking a step behind him. Mercer knocked at the door. There was no answer for some time, so Mercer knocked again. Tommy had the distinct impression that no one was coming, when the door finally opened.

It wasn't Hayley who opened the door. It was someone entirely unexpected. Tommy particularly hadn't thought to see him as he was now.

Zack was the one who'd opened the door and he was now looking up at Mercer from a seat in a wheelchair.

"Hi," said Mercer, "I'm Dr Anton Mercer. I'd like to speak to Hayley."

"This is a bad time," said Zack. His hand was on the door, as though ready to slam it shut at a moment's notice. Behind his head, the hall light flickered out for a moment.

"Problems with your electrics?" Mercer asked.

"I think you'd better leave."

"It's really very important that I talk to Hayley."

"Why? What do you want to see her about?" Zack was looking utterly unconvinced. Behind him, the light went out again, briefly.

"Tell him," Tommy whispered in Mercer's ear.

Mercer hesitated a moment, but then he said, "It's about creating new Power Rangers."

There was a brief instant when Zack's expression was given over to fear. He controlled it quickly, but Tommy had seen. He should have known the original Ranger wouldn't just be sitting around quietly while the prince ruled the universe.

"Leave now," said Zack. He went to close the door, but Mercer held it open.

"I want ten minutes with Hayley," Mercer said.

"Repeat exactly what I say," whispered Tommy to Mercer, "I know Zordon gave secrecy as the third rule of being a Ranger, but there are times you have to trust someone."

Mercer repeated the words precisely and Zack blinked up at him in surprise.

"How do you know about Zordon?" he asked.

"Ten minutes?" suggested Mercer.

"This really is a bad time."

As if to prove his point, the hall light exploded. As did the bulb in the porch light, and that wasn't even switched on. Tommy jumped backwards to avoid the shards of falling glass but wasn't entirely successful. A piece caught his hand and red drops appeared mid-air, falling to the ground. Zack saw them, staring as apparently empty space was bleeding.

"What the hell?"

"Twenty minutes?" suggested Mercer.

"Zack! Get in here and give us a hand!" yelled Hayley's frantic voice.

"Stay there," Zack instructed, manoeuvring his wheelchair with surprising speed and heading down the hall and through a door.

"I'm going to see what they're doing," said Tommy, following Zack inside, not waiting for Mercer to tell him what a stupid idea it was.

Zack had gone through into a lab that managed to make even his basement look impressive. Someone had tried to turn a perfectly ordinary living room into a lab. There was some sort of generator hooked to two pole-like devices that looked vaguely familiar. On a table nearby were two morphers that Tommy recognised instantly as the yellow and blue Dino morphers. So where was the red one?

The generator was clearly what was giving issues as it sparked madly. Zack had been recruited to hold down a switch while Hayley made adjustments. Another very familiar figure was working on the poles. Billy was busy fiddling with the controls at the top of one. The other pole was being held upright by Blake.

Suddenly, Tommy realised why the poles looked familiar. He'd used something very similar to go into Rita and Zedd's palace to rescue Kimberly. Before that, Jason had used them to try and recover the green candle. They were trying to get into the dark palace.

"Got it!" Hayley declared. The generator stopped sparking.

"Matching the fluctuations," said Billy.

And then the poles activated, creating a portal between them.

"Yes!" Blake punched the air.

"Don't celebrate until we get him out of there," said Zack.

Billy looked across at Blake. "Are you adequately prepared for this endeavour?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," said Blake. Then he stepped into the portal.

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"Look, man, it wasn't your fault," Connor was saying. Dustin barely heard him. He'd just told the prince everything he knew about Mercer, everything he'd seen and heard while at the base, everything the man had asked for. Dustin was grateful that the prince hadn't asked about the rebels, because he knew he'd have given all that away too.

Cam had held out two months under torture. Dustin hadn't even managed two days.

"It was the spell," Connor continued, "It wasn't really you."

But it felt like it had been Dustin. It had been his mouth that had opened to let such precious information out. It had been him who'd just ruined their best chance of fighting the prince and probably doomed the people who were behind it. Doomed Hunter.

The entire top half of his body was in pain, but he accepted it as just punishment for having betrayed Mercer's trust. His wrists were throbbing from where he hung his weight on the cuffs and he'd lost feeling in his hands, but standing up properly would require too much effort. He was useless. He'd been a Ranger less than a day when he'd been captured and he'd given away everything in the first session with the prince. Why had he even thought he could do anything right?

Whatever other words of comfort Connor might have offered, he went silent as a circle of energy appeared in the middle of the room. A teenager stepped out of it, staring round in horror at the room. He was dark-haired and dressed in a navy-trimmed ninja uniform. Dustin stared at him, wondering why this guy looked so familiar.

"About damn time," declared Connor on seeing the figure.

A rescue? The thought was almost beyond hope, yet Dustin couldn't help thinking that this guy should have arrived half an hour earlier. Judging from the expression on Connor's face, this boy was a welcome sight. And he'd definitely not come in by the door. A way out of the palace? He knew it was technically possible; Maddy and Tori had done it. But Dustin couldn't quite believe he was about to be freed. He didn't deserve to be freed.

The new arrival hurried over to Connor, unfastening the cuffs around his wrists. The boy then bent to free Connor's ankles, but Connor muttered, "I've got it," and nodded towards Dustin. The boy left Connor release his own feet, instead helping Dustin out of his cuffs.

"Hi," he said, "I'm Blake." He was sure he knew that name as well.

"Dustin."

The chains came off and Dustin stood in the middle of the torture chamber. Connor tossed him something which he caught without thinking. It was his morpher. Connor was already fastening the other one around his own wrist. Dustin hesitated before putting on his own. He didn't deserve to be a Ranger. Not after everything that had happened.

But the power had been given to him and no one else. If he didn't use it, he'd have no way to make up for what he'd done.

"Let's get out of here," said Blake, heading for the circle of energy that still hovered in the middle of the room. He waved Connor through it. Then it was Dustin's turn. He stared at the circle of energy for a long moment. It couldn't be any worse than the portal between worlds, could it? Even if it was, nothing that this thing could do to him was worse than he deserved.

Dustin closed his eyes and jumped.

There was no rushing motion. He was just suddenly standing somewhere completely different.

Dustin looked around at a room that was a cross between a regularly, sub-urban lounge and something out of Star Trek. There were strange bits of machinery around the room as well as a powerful-looking computer that was currently resting on a coffee table.

"This is Dustin," Connor was saying, "He's a Ranger too."

"How?" asked a young woman who'd been working on a large machine but was now staring intently at Dustin. Dustin hugged his arms around himself and wished he had a shirt.

"It's complicated," said Dustin.

Blake stepped out of the portal and the thing shut itself off. Dustin looked around at the other occupants of the room, seeing a black guy in a wheelchair and a young man busily inspecting the device that appeared to have generated the portal.

"I was beginning to think you guys were never going to rescue me," Connor said with a grin.

"The procedure of generating an intra-dimensional transportation field was hampered by the need to match fluctuation patterns of the hyperspacial energy with which the prince has surrounded the palace," said the guy by the portal-generating device.

Dustin turned to Connor and asked in a whisper, "What does that mean?"

Connor shrugged and replied without bothering to keep his voice low, "I never understand what Billy says."

There was cheerful hugging and hand-shaking going on as the other welcomed Connor home. Dustin watched, thinking of those he'd like to be here to welcome him, and knowing the danger he'd just put them in. But he didn't have any way to warn them. He didn't know where Mercer was and the device he had for contacting him had been taken at the same time as his morpher. Only that hadn't been left within easy reach. He had absolutely no way to tell Mercer that he'd just told the prince everything.

Dustin's attention was grabbed by the computer flickering to life at the edge of the room. Clearly the others noticed it.

"Something to do with the power surges?" asked the black guy.

"I unplugged it," said the woman.

The other guy, presumably Billy, went over to the computer, which was now quite definitely plugged in, as it ran through the start-up sequence.

"Maybe we've got ghosts," said Connor. Most of the other occupants of the room gave him half-hearted glares to show what they thought of that suggestion. Dustin grinned slightly at the fact that exactly the same thought had occurred to him the moment before Connor had spoken.

"It's auto-running something from the disk drive," said Billy, as a video program opened up, a horrifyingly familiar face filling the screen.

"Hello," said the face, "I'm Tommy Oliver. If you're not me, then something has gone seriously wrong." The introduction continued, explaining that this was a history of his life as a Ranger. They were all gathered round the computer now, watching as images and narration appeared explaining how the earth Rangers had been chosen and how the prince had gained the powers of the Green Ranger.

"That never happened," Zack said, as the video showed the Green Ranger being freed from evil and going on to lose his powers.

"Let's just see if there's a point to all this," said Hayley. Dustin was already getting a suspicion of what this video might be talking about as it continued to show the prince as a good guy, fighting the evil that repeatedly tried to attack earth. The video went on, showing Rangers that had never existed. Then Dustin saw himself appear on the screen and became acutely aware of everyone else staring at him.

He was grateful for the distraction when the video went on to show the boy standing next to him, as well as another Dustin recognised. He realised immediately why this guy's face had seemed familiar; he'd seen it staring out from the photograph beside Hunter's bed.

"You're Hunter's brother?" he asked.

"You know Hunter?"

"Ssh," hissed Connor, "I'm trying to watch this."

"With the return of Mesagog, it became necessary to activate the power of the Dino Gems. The Dino Gems were given to Connor, Kira and Ethan." The pictures appeared on the screen of those three as Rangers. The Connor watching the video looked somewhat smug as he was mentioned.

"But Mesagog was trying to create his own Rangers," the face of the prince reappeared to continued the narration, "I was able to recover the black Dino Gem and activate it myself," he raised a wrist to show the bracelet he wore, "The white Gem, however, was activated by Trent, who for some time struggled to control the Gem's power and succumbed to evil. However, the evil coating on the Gem was shattered and Trent joined the team as the White Ranger."

The video showed a brief clip of the five of them as Rangers, but then it ended automatically.

"If this is someone's idea of a practical joke," said the black guy, "I'm not laughing."

"I think it's the history of another universe," said Dustin. The others stared at him with looks of severe incredulity. "I've been there. This guy, Mercer, built a portal to another world. That's how I became a Ranger, there's no prince there, so there's no block against new Rangers being formed."

"I believe him," said Connor. Dustin gave him a brief smile. After all, this guy had just heard Dustin explain all about the other world to the prince under a mind-control spell.

"The other world is most definitely real."

Dustin turned to face the speaker. Anton Mercer was standing in the doorway.


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three**

Zhane was sitting at one of the consoles in the bridge of the Astro Megaship. Around him, operatives for the rebellion were scanning for any trace of Dustin. The problem was, without his control unit, there was no unique signal that they could identify. DECA could pick up human lifesigns, but wasn't able to identify individuals from them. They were looking for a needle in a haystack when the needle might just as easily be in the barn or the pig pen.

Andros was sitting in the central chair. He'd not said a word in hours. True, silence was fairly common around the Red Ranger, but Zhane thought this mood might be worse than usual. He'd promise to try and find this kid and now he was probably wondering if it was even possible. Zhane would have loved to offer some words of comfort, but he was wondering exactly the same thing.

"Andros," said the man at the communications console, a guy named Carter, "we're getting a signal from one of our spies on Aquitar. Apparently the majority of the prince's forces are leaving."

"Where are they going?" asked Andros, crossing the room to look over Carter's shoulder. Everyone on the bridge was listening, and probably thinking along the same lines. Aquitar was the planet hit hardest by the prince, its people those most likely to rise up fiercely. If most of the prince's soldiers left, it would take almost nothing to cause an uprising and liberate the planet.

Holding onto Aquitar would be more difficult, but a victory here would give hope to people on all other worlds. If other people started fighting, the prince might be too busy dealing with other minor skirmishes to be able to seize back the planet.

"There's another signal," said Carter, "No, two signals from Triforia. The prince's armies there are moving too."

Zhane could hardly believe his ears. The prince hadn't got to his position of power by making sloppy mistakes. He wouldn't leave two key planets barely defended unless what he was going after was worth several dozen solar systems.

"The dormant putty patrols Rita left on Earth are activating." This report came from Cole, an annoying kid Zhane didn't really like who'd nonetheless been amazingly keen to join up and had been a part of the rebellion for the past few months. "And there are dark guards appearing all over the planet."

"Unusual energy readings detected," put in DECA. Zhane wondered if maybe she'd been feeling left out.

"What sort of readings?" asked Zhane, returning his attention to his own console and bringing up the display of DECA's sensors.

"They would appear to be consistent with Ranger energies."

"DECA's right," said Zhane, "There are two of them, on Earth."

"The White Ranger?" asked Andros.

"I guess he's got his power source working."

"That must be what the prince is after."

Zhane nodded. He'd been thinking much the same thing. There were a few humans who followed the prince, out of fear or greed or both. If the prince gained a power source that could turn those into Rangers, the rebels wouldn't stand a chance of defeating him.

"We have to get that power source first," said Andros, "DECA, lay in a course for earth. Carter, signal our forces in the safe houses and tell them this is it. We're taking on the prince and we need everyone we can get on our side. One way or another, this war ends now."

Andros was standing in the middle of the bridge, no longer the sulking, angry man that no one really liked and most people resented. He'd become again the calm and confident leader that Zhane remembered. He'd become the man who'd started this rebellion, who'd inspired men and women to follow and to believe they could achieve the impossible. People looked at him and thought that maybe they stood a chance after all. They looked at him and a chance for freedom and goodness to return to the universe.

But all Andros saw were the other Astro Rangers, killed right in front of him.

All Andros saw was vengeance.

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The Astro Megaship was in a kind of organised panic. People were rushing about with apparent purpose but Maddy was standing in the middle of it all, not quite sure what was going on. She'd been in her room with Tori, Shane and Xander when all this had started. Maddy grabbed hold of one purpose who was hurrying past the door.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"The prince is mobilising forces. We're going into direct battle. Big day, people." He gave a terrified grin at Maddy and the others and then hurried on his way.

This wasn't what Maddy had expected when she'd signed up with the rebellion. She'd thought there'd be a few simple missions, sneaking people from the slave camps or blowing up a weapons store or two. She hadn't expected to be flung right into the middle of the war.

"Well, some people say you never learn to swim until you jump in the deep end," said Tori, probably guessing her worries, "I guess you'd better start paddling."

"I'm an excellent swimmer," said Maddy, "I'm just a little new to the whole getting shot at and killed thing."

Her panicking was cut short by a beeping from her pocket. She pulled out her wand.

"How the hell have you got cell phone signal here?" asked Shane as Maddy lifted the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked, expecting Chip or Nick to say they were needed somewhere else on the ship.

"Maddy, it's V."

"Vida? What? How? Where are you?" The others, hearing Maddy's half of the conversation, where listening intently, even Shane, who knew next to nothing about Vida.

"Back in Briarwood. It's a really, really long story. Look, Maddy, there's no time to lose. Udonna says there are enormous amounts of evil energy on the move."

"We know," said Maddy.

"This man I've been working with, Dr Mercer, he can make us Rangers, all five of us."

"How?"

"Long story, remember? If you come to Briarwood and meet me, I can take you all to Mercer and we can get our powers."

"I'll see what I can do," said Maddy, remembering what Zhane had said about people not being allowed to leave after joining the rebellion. But it wasn't like they were going to be leaving for good. Zhane had to agree to giving them Ranger abilities.

"Hurry," said Vida. "Something major is going to go down soon. I want to make sure I have my Ranger powers before that happens. If you don't get here quickly, I'm going to leave without you."

"Don't you dare," replied Maddy. "I've already lost you once."

"I love you, sis."

"I love you too."

They hung up and Maddy turned to the others.

"Go get Nick and Chip," she told Shane and Tori, "we need to talk to Andros."

Shane started to say something, presumably trying to clear up his confusion, but Tori grabbed his arm and started walking. Maddy was already out of the room and heading for the bridge, Xander hurrying after her.

"Is Vida alright?"

Maddy nodded, "And she thinks she can get us our Ranger powers." It seemed incredible after all Udonna's unsuccessful attempts, but Vida had never taken the word 'impossible' too seriously. She would jump headlong into situations that everyone else said were too dangerous or foolish and she would generally end up succeeding. If she thought she could make them Power Rangers, Maddy would believe her.

Besides, she really needed to see Vida in person so she could yell at her properly for disappearing and scaring her so much.

They reached the bridge, which was even more chaotic than the rest of the ship. About a dozen people were busy around the various consoles, all talking at once, coming up with plans and struggling to do a million jobs at once. Zhane, sitting quietly at one of the consoles, looked pale and exhausted at the mere sight of all the people rushing around him. He looked up and saw Maddy and Xander in the doorway.

"Whatever it is," Zhane said, "it will have to wait."

"My sister thinks she can make us Power Rangers," said Maddy.

Silence fell across the bridge. Andros looked up from where he'd been working, staring intently at her. With so much attention suddenly directed at her, Maddy didn't think she'd ever been more nervous. If this turned out to be a mistake, she'd never be able to face these people again after the way they looked at her with such a mixture of hope and disbelief.

Maddy repeated what Vida had told her.

"And Cam said that this man, Mercer, might be able to make Dustin a Ranger," she added.

"It's definitely possible," said Zhane, "We've detected Ranger energy on Earth and it's not the prince."

"Go," Andros said, "and take a control unit with you so you can join up with us again if this works."

"Thank you," Maddy said.

"And may the Power protect you," Andros called after them as they were leaving. Nick and Chip were rounding a corner and had to be given a quick summary of events as they rushed towards the teleportation bay.

So much was happening all at once and there was no time to waste.

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Dustin had clearly been through a lot in the short time since he'd visited Tommy's world. Somewhere along the line he'd lost his top and gained a great many cuts. Most of his torso was covered in blood. Even the skin that wasn't cut looked red and sore. But there was more than that; Tommy saw a deep pain in the boy's eyes that spoke of something worse than the physical suffering he must have undergone.

Dustin started speaking the moment he saw Mercer, a trace of panic in his voice and more than a hint of guilt.

"You've got to get your people to safety," Dustin said. "The prince knows about the world-crossing machine and how it can be used to make new Rangers. He knows about your base and the people who work for you."

"Calm down, Dustin," Mercer said, "my base is well hidden and shielded."

"But the prince has the device you gave me to contact you," Dustin said, "and he knows all about you. I told him everything."

A look something akin to revulsion came onto Mercer's face as Dustin made that last confession. The others stared at him as well with varying levels of shock. Tommy wasn't sure which was worse, the expression of utter disgust on Zack's face, or the pity on Hayley's.

"The prince used magic," Connor said, "No one could have resisted it."

"Well, it's done," Mercer said, "It's just a good thing Dustin didn't know the location of my base. It's very unlikely that the prince will be able to trace the signal from Dustin's locator, but I should have my team prepared for the worst, just in case."

Tommy didn't feel like showing himself here, not with the current level of hatred in the room. But he had to do something quickly to stop Mercer leaving with nothing. He picked up the blue Dino morpher and threw it at Mercer. He caught it, surprised, but not nearly as shocked as everyone else in the room.

"If someone's got telekinetic powers," said Zack, "this would be a good time to mention it."

No one replied. Tommy wondered if a bigger hint was needed and if he should replay the last minute of the video, but Mercer just stared at the morpher and said, "I think I know who this belongs to."

"What about the yellow one?" asked Hayley.

"The girl who's the Yellow Ranger in the other world says that she's dead in this one," said Dustin. That didn't necessarily mean that there wasn't someone here who could activate the Gem. After all, many of the powers in the past had been given from one Ranger to another. And some Rangers had had many powers.

They didn't know if the Dino Gems would link only to one person. It was possible that there were thousands of people who could activate each Gem and it just happened that they'd been the first to try. The sensible thing to do would be to try contacting everyone who'd been a Yellow Ranger in his world to see if any of them could manage to use the morpher.

He just wasn't sure how to explain that idea without completely giving himself away.

They might get the hint if he could turn on the video and pause it on a picture of Trini or one of the other Yellow Rangers. But getting to the computer would be tough now. They were all gathered around it and he would seriously struggle to get to the controls without bumping into someone. While he did like his power, he couldn't help but wish for a few others from time to time.

"I should get back to my people," said Mercer. "It looks like we might have a hell of a fight on our hands."

"I'd like to come with you," said Dustin. "This is my fault, I'd like to help fix things."

Mercer considered for a long moment. Tommy wanted to tell him to trust Dustin. After all, Tommy knew better than anyone just how hard spells could be to resist. But he didn't want to risk talking; if the others heard the whisper they might figure out someone else was there. The morpher had been a big enough risk.

"Alright, you can come," said Mercer. "If any of the rest of you want to come too, I'll be more than happy to have you along. My team are determined to fight the prince and we've got a better base than it seems you've managed to put together."

There was a silence, with Billy, Zack and Hayley exchanging looks. Blake just looked at Mercer.

"Is Hunter with you?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm with you too."

"We don't know anything about this man," said Zack. "He could be an agent of the prince trying to trick us."

"If I worked for the prince, there'd have been a hundred dark guards around this place as soon as I realised you had the other Dino Gems here."

"Other?" asked Hayley.

"I have the black and white Gems. The white Gem was activated by my son, Trent."

"Dark-haired kid who spent most classes doodling cartoons in his notebook?"

"That would be Trent." Mercer grinned slightly at Hayley's description.

"I say we trust him," said Hayley, "We haven't got a lot to lose."

"Except our lives and our freedom," said Zack. Tommy wondered how he'd managed to become so bitter and cynical in this world. It probably had something to do with how he'd ended up in the wheelchair. That must be hell for someone as lively and active as Zack had always been.

"I feel the possible tangible benefits of such an alliance far outway the negative affects of remaining in our state of limited resources," said Billy.

"If Dustin trusts him," said Connor, "I'd be willing to bet this guy's an enemy of the prince."

"Looks like I'm out-voted then," said Zack.

Tommy grinned.

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"We're getting a signal from Dustin's locator device," said Elsa. The others looked over at her screen. They'd gathered in the control room to await Dr Mercer's return and to monitor the sudden movement of forces across the galaxy.

"I'll go fetch him then," said Trent.

"Shouldn't we wait for your dad?" asked Hunter. He was hopeful at the prospect of seeing Dustin again, but they'd been specifically told to wait here. On the other hand, Dustin might have some information about why the prince's army appeared to be on the move.

"We don't have to have my dad for everything," Trent said, "I'll just go and bring him back here."

He walked over to the main console to activate the invisiportal network.


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four**

Trent stepped out of the invisiportal. He was somewhere hot and dry, the landscape around him barren and rocky. It wasn't somewhere he'd expected to find Dustin. Above him, built on a cliff edge was a strange building of pale stone with no obvious doors or windows. What was this place?

"Dustin?" Trent called.

"I'm afraid not." The voice had a chill in it that contrasted hugely with the burning heat of the surroundings. Trent spun to face the speaker, seeing the prince standing smiling a few metres away.

"Thank you for showing me the way," the prince said.

The horror of realisation struck Trent to the core. The invisportal wouldn't fully close for some time. The prince could use it to get to the base. To get to his dad.

Well, there was no way Trent was going to let that happen! He brought his arm in front of him, his bracelet already transforming to reveal his morpher. Maybe he could give this man some of the pain he deserved.

Then icy fingers closed around Trent's forearm. He looked down, seeing the utter darkness of one of the dark guards who'd materialised beside him. The coldness seeped through his skin and his flesh, deep into his soul. Trent gasped at a pain that went far beyond the physical. He tried to pull his arm away, but the hand of the black guard wasn't going to be easily shaken loose and Trent's muscles were already weakening from a cold so strong it burned.

"I owe you worlds of pain," said the prince, "for everything you did to Jason." He walked slowly towards Trent, that cruel, little smile still on his face. Trent struggled to focus on him, to think about anything but the tremendous cold that was flowing from his arm up his body, making his limbs shaky and weak.

"Go to hell," Trent snarled, through pain and chattering teeth. Despite the blazing sun and the burning heat of the desert around him, Trent felt like he was standing naked in a blizzard. And the cold was still deepening.

The prince was a small laugh. "I can't go to hell," he said, "I am hell."

The dark guard released its grip.

Trent fell. His body was sapped of all strength, unable to support his weight. Barely able to move, Trent looked up at the prince, who smirked down on him.

"I want the pleasure of killing you to last a very long time," the prince said, "Unfortunately, I have business I must attend to first. Watch him." The last was addressed to the dark guard who stood motionless and utterly obedient over Trent. Then the prince turned to the invisiportal, more of the dark guards materialising to follow him in.

"No," Trent gasped.

He had to do something. He was a Ranger! He couldn't just lie here while the prince attacked his home, attacked his dad. His thoughts were burning with rage. He wanted to kill the prince with his bare hands for tricking him like this, for using him to get to his family. But even that fire wasn't enough to counteract the numbing coldness that the guard had filled him with.

His morpher was on his wrist. If he could tap into its power, maybe that would give him the strength to follow the prince through. He didn't need much. Just enough to get close so he could stab that bastard in the back. He couldn't persuade his limbs to react. He couldn't get his mouth to form the words. Inside him mind, he silently screamed the phrase over and over, in the hope that his powers would respond. They'd worked before without him needing to say anything, back when he'd first gained the Gem and been struggling to control it. He'd morphed then without ever really meaning to. Why couldn't he morph now?

Tears pricked his eyes and froze on his cheeks.

Dad. His dad couldn't fight the prince. He needed Trent.

Trent thought he could hear his dad's voice calling his name. He silently murmured an apology, hoping his dad would somehow understand that he'd never meant for this to happen. He'd never meant for any of this.

Trent reached inside himself for the Power, but found only the icy chill of evil as the world around him faded to white.

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Anton activated the invisiportal to bring them all back to his base. He'd been hoping to recruit one more scientist, now it seemed he'd got a handful and a couple of Rangers. His head was full of questions, particularly about what had happened to Dustin in the brief time he'd been gone. But the questions could wait until they were back at the base and he'd made certain that the prince wasn't about to find them.

He stepped through into the control room, a little surprised to see almost all of his team there. Hunter noticed Dustin and his appearance.

"Dustin? We just got your signal. What the hell happened?" Then his eyes passed Dustin and fell on the figure behind him. Blake shoved past Hayley and the guy in the wheelchair to fling his arms around Hunter.

Anton let the brothers embrace. He was rather more concerned with what Hunter had just said.

"You got a signal from Dustin's locator?"

Elsa nodded, "Trent went to answer it."

She hadn't even finished speaking when Anton was at the communications console, signalling Trent. He tried to tell himself that Trent was strong. He'd been a fighter even before he'd become a Ranger. He'd be alright. But there was no answer.

"Trent? Trent get back here. Trent, answer me. Trent!"

"Anton, what's going on?" Elsa asked.

"Get out of here now," Anton said, "all of you."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that." Such simple words sent a shiver of dread through Anton. He looked around to see the prince standing across the room, dark guards flanking him.

Anton backed away, the rest of his people and Hayley's moving too. The two groups faced each other across the control room, Anton standing in front of his people, trying to control his fear. His team needed him to be strong now. His son needed him to be strong. The terror threatened to overwhelm him, but he couldn't let him.

"Where's Trent?" he asked.

"Oh, he's still alive. For now." He said it so casually, dismissing Trent as of so little importance, that the fear almost became worse. This monster was capable of anything. And he had good reason to want to hurt Trent.

The prince surveyed them all and laughed.

"You plot and you scheme but when you finally face me, you cower. There are three Rangers here and not a one of you has the courage to challenge me."

"Four." The voice came out of nowhere, the sound of it so familiar but the tone so different. The air shimmered and took form, a man dressed in black standing in front of Anton and his team to face down the prince.

"There are four Rangers here," the man said, "and I know I can take you." He turned to Connor, who looked utterly dumbfounded as he recognised the face of the man who was defending them, "You, Ethan and Dustin, tackle the guards while everyone else, gets to safety."

Anton pressed the blue morpher into Ethan's hand, seeing the Gem glow as it claimed its owner.

"Just do as I do. Dino Thunder! Power up! Ha!" The two boys went through their morphing sequence and Red and Blue Rangers faced the Green.

"Ninja Storm: Ranger Form!" And Yellow joined in.

"Deal with them," the prince ordered his guards.

Anton ushered the others out of the room as the guards advanced, the three Rangers struggling to hold back the dozen or so dark forms and Anton's people rushed through the doorway. It would only take one brief touch for a guard to kill someone. His team ran, heading away from the fight and through the base. No matter how good they were, they couldn't face the dark guards. No one had ever fought them and lived. The Rangers were safe, their skin was completely covered. For anyone else, even victory would mean death.

Anton hesitated in the doorway. He saw the Rangers trading blows with the dark guards. They seemed to be holding their own, but he wasn't even sure it was possible to kill those things.

In the centre of the room, the two version of Tommy Oliver faced each other. Neither had made a move yet; both were just weighing the other up.

"You really going to fight yourself?" the prince asked, almost sounding amused.

"I know the good person you used to be," replied the other, "and I know that person would rather be dead than the person you are now."

"We'll see. Dragonzord!"

"Dino Thunder! Power Up! Ha!"

Anton closed the door and locked it. He had to get out of here. He had to find Trent.  



	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty Five**

"I want to help you."

Vida stopped walking and turned back to see a blond girl standing a little way behind her. The girl looked frail and helpless, staring at Vida with an expression of hopefulness at the thought of being included. If she didn't know better, Vida would have thought that Leelee was trying to look innocent.

"Leelee, you're evil, remember?" said Vida.

"Not really. Just because my mum's like super evil doesn't mean that I am. Besides, Mum doesn't like the prince either. I want to help you fight him."

"The only time I've seen you in a fight, you spent most of the time complaining your hair was messed up."

"But..."

"Leelee, I don't like you, I don't trust you and I don't want you standing behind me in a dangerous situation because I wouldn't know for sure who you'd attack."

"How can you say that?" Leelee actually looked like she might cry. Vida didn't buy it.

"You haven't been here," Leelee said, "while I've been helping the mystics. They trust me. Sort of."

Vida knew she didn't know Leelee all that well. Leelee had shown up at about the same time that Udonna had begun her search for the Mystic Rangers. She'd approached them, pretending to be a normal girl, trying to gain their trust. When that hadn't worked, she'd approached them honestly as the daughter of the Queen of the Vampires, saying that the vampires wanted to get rid of the prince too.

While that might be true, Vida didn't see how they could trust someone who was probably only working to put in power someone as evil as the prince.

"If they trust you, good for you. I still don't."

Vida turned and started walking again. She wasn't too worried about turning her back on Leelee. After all, the girl would try and be nice to them until they did what she wanted. She'd only bring out the claws when she didn't need them anymore.

Bright lights appeared all around her in brilliant colours. For a moment, Vida tensed for a fight, but the lights faded to reveal people. To reveal Maddy.

Vida grabbed her into a fierce hug.

"Hey, sis," Maddy said, half-laughing, half-crying as she hugged Vida back. The others gave the sisters a brief moment before they piled into the embrace too. Then everyone started speaking at once, saying how worried they'd been, how they'd thought they'd never see her again, how glad they were that she was safe. Vida just let it wash over her as the sense of belonging filled her to the brim.

"We should get to Mercer's base," Vida said, "to see if we really can become Rangers. After that, we'll have to decide what happens next."

"We told Andros and Zhane we'd go back to the rebels," Maddy said, "Something big's going down and they're going to need our help."

"Mercer's fighting the prince too, and he doesn't have nearly as many in his team as Andros has in the rebels."

"I don't want us to be seperated again."

"Neither do I," Vida looked Maddy in the eye so she could see she was being sincere. "If you really want to go back to Andros, I'll go with you. But at least hear Dr Mercer out. He's a good man and a great leader."

"I'll listen," Maddy conceeded and Vida grinned. She started looking round for the invisiportal entrance that was somewhere near here. In that pause, Nick noticed Leelee, still standing amoung the trees a short distance away.

"Are you coming too?" Nick asked, his tone very much sounding like an invitation. Vida fumed slightly as Leelee nodded, but she didn't say anything. She just found the green point of light and reached into it, the invisiportal opening to suck them all inside.

What she found wasn't anything like what she'd been expecting.

The control room was in chaos. There was, by the looks of things, a major battle going on. There were about a dozen dark guards battling three bright-suited Rangers. And there, in the middle of the room, was the Green Ranger, locked in combat with a Black Ranger.

In the few seconds it took for them to take in the scene, one of the guards grabbed hold of Leelee.

"Hey! This top is Italian!" she said, punching the thing in the stomach and tugging herself free. She humphed and straightened her shirt.

"Leelee? You're OK?"

Vida had seen what happened to the dark guard's victims. Leelee had hit the thing with her bare hands and now she was acting like the biggest concern she had was the wrinkles it might have made in her outfit.

"Hello, future Queen of the Vampires here. Like a touch of absolute evil would really hurt me."

"Well, they can hurt us," Nick said, ducking out of the way as one of the dark guards got too close.

"Get out of here," called one of the Rangers, jumping to land between the Mystics and the prince's minions. Vida thought she recognised the voice.

"Ethan? Where the hell did you get a morpher?"

"Long story."

Another of the dark guards came at them, clearly deciding that they made an easier target than the Rangers. It was about to be proved wrong. The Mystics had their wands out and the dark guard was quickly wrapped in vines and engulfed in flames.

"Awesome!" called Ethan as the guard disintegrated under the attack.

Leelee grinned, "They're creatures composed entirely of dark magic. That means good magic's the only thing that can destroy them."

"Let's get to it then," said Nick.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tommy was hard-pressed. It wasn't exactly the first time he'd dealt with fighting someone who knew his every move, but this was different. When he'd fought his past Ranger encarnations, he'd been older and more experienced, but this Green Ranger had had as much time to learn as he'd had.

And there was power behind each move that was stronger than anything Tommy had faced before. He was certain he could take the Green Ranger, at least the Green Ranger that had existed in his world. But this Green Ranger had the power of Dark Spectre inside him as well as his Ranger abilities. And that made him stronger than Tommy.

He'd always tried to believe that good would triumph over evil no matter what. Now he just hoped he'd been right.

Around him, the other Rangers were battling with the prince's creatures, but Tommy didn't have time to give them a thought. He was too busy working out how to block each blow, trying to get a few of his own in.

The prince caught Tommy with a blow that sent him flying across the room and smashing into one of the control panels, which exploded into sparks around him. He hit the ground, winded, and then lay a moment longer. He didn't move. Thanks to the helmet, the prince would have no way to see how badly he was hurt. Let him assume it was severely.

The prince would want to gloat.

One of the reasons he'd become so good at martial arts was that, when he'd been younger, he'd wanted everyone to think he was wonderful. If he was honest with himself, it wasn't a tendency he'd ever completely got rid of. An evil version of himself was bound to want to prove to his victim who was the superior.

The prince approached Tommy, walking slowly. There was still caution, but that diminished as Tommy continued to lie motionless. The prince reached down for the clasps on Tommy's helmet.

Tommy grabbed the prince's wrist and pulled. At the same moment, he brought his leg round, knocking the prince's feet out from under him. He continued the movement, still holding the prince's arm. As the prince went down, Tommy ended up on top on him, a knee in the prince's back and the prince's arm twisted behind him.

"You think you can defeat me that easily?" the prince asked.

The prince's free hand pulled out the Dragondagger and slashed at Tommy's leg. That was enough for the prince to get out of Tommy's hold, his captured arm now a lever to send Tommy spinning.

Then they were both on their feet again, facing each other down.

Tommy realised that the room was slightly more crowded now than it had been earlier. And there were less of the dark guards.

Some more people had arrived, but Tommy didn't recognise any of them. Whoever they were, they had some amazingly powers. He watched as what appeared to be a pink tornado ripped apart one of the guards.

"It seems my guards are out-matched," said the prince, "but I've still got a few tricks left."

The prince brought his hands to the front of his shield, gathering a ball of energy there. Tommy knew that move, even though he'd only ever managed when he'd been under Rita's control. The prince was focussing his powers, bringing them together as a weapon.

Tommy tried to dodge the energy blast, but the explosion shook the room. The consoles and electronics couldn't take it, causing further explosions. Half the ceiling caved in, nearly burying Tommy in the rubble. The others were struggling to get out of the way of the chaos as the control room came apart.

Then the noise and movement stopped. The smoke slowly cleared to reveal a room destroyed. There was nothing left of the machinery and controls that Mercer had built. There was just a group of teenagers, dirty and tired, coughing at the dust in the air.

The prince had gone.

Tommy didn't think he'd have gone far. The fight between them was a long way from being over and the prince wouldn't want to leave it an open question. He'd be back to try and kick Tommy's ass and prove once and for all who was better. But for now, they had a moment to breathe.

"Is everyone alright?" Tommy asked.

"No!" said a blond girl, "These shoes are ruined."

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The prince moved through the base. Fools!

They thought they could challenge him with their fancy tricks, but he'd show them who was the strongest. He'd teach them they were wrong. He'd prove their weakness and have them begging for his mercy.

He would get that imposter from another world and, just the two of them, he'd show the universe that the power of evil could always overwhelm goodness. That man would learn which path he should have chosen. He'd dared to face him. He'd thought about undoing all the prince's plans.

For that he would die.

The prince stepped into what seemed to be some sort of lab. Coloured jars filled with strange substances lined the shelves. The was no sign yet of the people who'd fled. They thought they fear him now, but they would know true terror before he'd finished with them.

The prince was about to leave to continue his search, when a strange glow caught his eye. A semi-transparent white stone was set on a table and something inside it was emitting a golden light.

Curious, the prince walked over to it and laid a hand on the surface of the stone.

He could feel little through the glove, so he powered down, letting his hand touch the warmth of its strength. Whatever was in here was powerful. He was never one to walk away from power.

Smiling slightly at the thought of all the damage he could do if he had even more power in his hands, he brought a fist down on the stone. It shatted beneath his strength, as everything did in the end, leaving only a black Gem on the table.

He picked it up and felt it's power beginning to flow through him. 


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty Six**

"Great idea. 'Come to my base. It's perfectly safe. We'll destroy the prince together.' Brilliant!" Zack was muttering sarcastically as the wheelchair whizzed along the corridors of the base. Hunter was a little too out of breath to yell at him to shut up because his attitude really wasn't helping things.

There was no easy way out of the base. Dr Mercer had designed it so that there was no way in without him finding out about it. But there was an emergency exit. Somewhere. Mercer had told him about it in his first week here, but Hunter just couldn't remember where he'd said it was.

Hopefully Elsa knew. She was currently leading the chaotic run through the base. Mercer hadn't been with them since they'd left the control room. Hunter wasn't sure if Mercer had stayed to fight of if he was finding some way to check on Trent. Either way, he definitely wasn't here. And right now, they really could have done with some of his leadership.

"We should have tried to fight," said Blake.

"Any such endeavours would have ultimately yielded incalculably minute levels of success, while resulting in substantial injuries," said the guy who'd arrived with Blake and Mercer. Hunter was impressed he had the breath to say all those syllables when running.

Hunter did feel bad about running away, but no one who touched a dark guard survived. They could fight just about every other monster or frightened human who served the prince, but not those guards. Leaving it to the Rangers had been the only sensible option.

Sensible still felt like cowardice though.

"We're here." Elsa stopped by a seemingly ordinary stretch of wall. She pressed several apparently blank points and then a large section slid to one side. There was no way Hunter would have remembered that.

"Where does it lead?" asked Hayley.

"Somewhere in Reefside. We've never used it because opening the doorway creates a small hole in our shields. Anton was worried it might let someone detect our location."

Elsa waved them all through into the dark passageway. Dim lights flickered on along its length, revealing a long, straight tunnel that gradually sloped downwards for quite some distance. At some point, the line of lights vanished so presumably it started climbing again eventually. The tunnel was almost featureless; it was just a hole cut through the rock.

The door slid closed behind them, Elsa doing something to presumably lock it.

"Let's go," Elsa said.

They set off at a walking pace now. Presumably, Elsa was confident that the prince wasn't about to find their escape route. The guy in the wheelchair was making some joke about accessible secret tunnels that no one found funny.

Hunter took this moment to ask Blake how the hell he was here. In the panic since Mercer's arrival, Hunter hadn't even really had a chance to say hello to his brother. There was so much they needed to say to each other, but there was no time to say it in. There were months to catch up on. Hunter had spent so long not even knowing if his brother was alive and here he was, utterly unexpected, arriving at the moment his home ceased to be a safe haven.

"Hayley's group rescued me," Blake said, "and I asked to join. So I did. I wanted to strike back somehow and maybe find you somewhere."

"Same with me. When Trent and the others got me out of the slave ship, I decided to stick around in case we found you on a rescue mission."

"I guess you've found me now," Blake said, "So, what's the deal with you and Dustin?"

Hunter laughed. They been reunited less than an hour and his brother was already interfering with his private life.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There were voices somewhere nearby, but Trent struggled to focus on them. He was shaking with cold and wished that one of these people would do something about it. It was as though there was ice in his veins instead of blood. He couldn't even lift his arms to try and rub some warmth into his limbs because his muscles were so weak. He tried to open his eyes and saw blurred lights, his vision failing to clear. Something came in his field of vision. It might have been a face, but his eyes just weren't cooperating.

Something touched his arm. Trent flinched away as well as he was able, but the burning thing remained. It was so hot he was sure it must be scorching his skin.

"Ssh," a voice said, "You're safe now." The burning hot something rubbed at the top of his arm in what was probably meant to be a gentle way, but all Trent could feel was the heat searing through his skin.

"I've never seen a reaction this bad," said another voice.

"Most people just have the dark guard's evil inside them. This guy's got a war between two powers happening inside his body."

"Could his Rangers powers overcome the dark guard's?"

"I don't know. No one's ever survived before."

"No one's ever been an active Range before."

Trent let the voices wash over him as he shivered. He was aware on some level that they were discussing him, trying to decide if he would live or die. Even in his current state, Trent couldn't help realise his chances were slim.

He'd never get to fight the prince and make him pay for what he'd done. He'd never get to cause him the pain he deserved for making him unwittingly betray his family. He'd probably never get to see his dad again. He'd never get to apologise for the way he'd been since he'd let the white Gem take over his life.

He just lay there, shaking from a cold that ran right through to his soul, while the voices discussed how likely he was to die.

"What I don't get, is why Tommy lured him here. He must have known we'd try to help him."

"Unless us bringing him into the Command Centre was all part of a bigger plan."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tommy powered down and then instantly regretted it as he dodged a bolt of lightning one of the kids shot out of his cell phone.

"Hey! Check the colour! I'm one of the good guys!" He tugged at his black t-shirt by means of demonstration.

"There's a good version of the prince in the other world," said a girl with a pink streak in her hair. She sounded doubtful though.

"Would the Green Ranger have been trying to kill me if I were evil?" Tommy asked.

"He has almost as many evil enemies as good ones," said the blond girl who'd been complaining about her outfit. "Actually, maybe even more, since most of Dark Spectre's followers don't like the fact he was named prince immediately while most of them have been waiting centuries for him to name a successor."

"I don't even want to know how you know that," said Dustin, powering down. "But I met another Tommy Oliver when I went to the other world and he seemed alright."

His pride was taking a severe knocking if 'alright' was the best discription he was given.

"Everyone in the other world seemed to think their Tommy Oliver was good," agreed Ethan, "including the other version of me."

"If I'm wearing this," Tommy said holding up his wrist with his morpher, "I'm on your side. Just kick the ass of anyone who looks like me who's wearing green."

"So, where did the prince go?" asked Connor.

"If I know me, he'll be around here somewhere. You may have destroyed his guards but he's not going to give up. We should probably try and find the others in case he decides to attack them first."

"Who said you're in charge?" demanded the girl with the pink streak.

Tommy guessed he really shouldn't be surprised by the attitude. After all, they were used to a version of him that ruled most of a galaxy. They weren't going to want to accept orders from him. Still, he did feel she was disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing.

"If you've got a better plan, let's hear it," Tommy said.

"We came here to become Rangers," she said.

Now that was surprising. He'd never seen this girl before in his life and he'd studied the history of all the Rangers that had come in contact with Earth. But the way they'd fought and the powers they appeared to possess suggested it wasn't just wishful thinking. He'd never been presumptuous enough to believe that his current team would be the last Rangers needed. Maybe these people just hadn't discovered their powers in his world.

"Alright then," Tommy said, "We'll go to the world-crossing machine."

So Tommy set off through what had, until recently, been a door and picked his way through the rubble that spread quite a long way along the corridor. He tried not to think about how much this base looked like Mesagog's island, but it was hard not to see the resemblence. Instead, he listened out for any sign of Mercer or the others, but his ears only picked up the murmurings from the group behind him as they presumably discussed whether or not they should listen to him.

He'd never faced such obvious mistrust and suspicion before. Even with all he'd done and all the times evil had controlled him, he'd never had to face a group of people who treated every word he said as though it was probably a lie. Right now, he hated it enough that he wondered if he should just go through the machine and get back to his world.

But the enemy here was himself, in a bizarre way, and that made him feel that he ought to help. It wasn't just the Ranger instincts to help those in need. He simply didn't want any version of himself to be responsible for so much pain.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I got a reading for a few seconds," Zhane said, "that might have been Ranger energies. There were strong, whatever they were."

"The signal's gone now?" Andros asked.

"Yes, but I managed to trace it's location. It's a small landmass just off the coast of the United States on Earth. Given the utter lack of any readings on it now, I would guess it's shielded."

Andros smiled."We've found the White Ranger's base."

"So it would seem."

"The instant we get within range, teleport us down." Then Andros switched on the shipboard comm unit, "Attention, all combat teams, prepare for departure."

Zhane watched Andros leave the bridge to join the others in the teleportation bay. He wished he could do something more useful than sitting here and pressing the button to send them to this battle. But he couldn't fight. He could barely walk a hundred yards without his body being overcome with exhaustion. He would sit and watch, a useless accessory to this war.

He would do nothing productive or helpful as Andros went to stop the dark prince and take his revenge. 


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

It hadn't taken them long to reach the room where Mercer stored his failed experiments. There was now quite an obvious path through the dust that led to the world-crossing machine. It stood there, dark and dormant among the rest of the dead machines.

"Do you know how to work this thing?" asked the prince's double.

Vida shrugged, "I've seen Cam use it a couple of times. It seemed simple enough."

"I'm all for you becoming Rangers," said Dustin, "but I think we should try and catch up with the others. The prince is around here somewhere and they've got no real way to fight him if he finds them first."

"Meaning, you're worried about Hunter?" teased Ethan.

"Shut up!" Dustin muttered, blushing.

"It shouldn't take us too long to go through and find out if our morphers will work," Vida said, before an actual argument could start.

"I know, but I hate to wait," Dustin responded.

"If we stand here much longer debating it," said the prince's double, "they'd have had time to go through and come back. I really think it's a bad idea to split this group up. That just makes us easier targets."

Vida knew that it was just her stubborn streak that now made her want to do exactly the opposite of what this man said. But knowing it didn't change it. This guy didn't just look like the prince, he was the prince on some level. And that meant Vida wasn't going to trust him an inch. And he kept acting like he was in charge, which would make her dislike him even if he wasn't the alter ego of the greatest monster the human race had ever produced.

"Mercer will probably head for the emergency exit," Vida said, and Ethan nodded his agreement, "If you guys head there, we'll be right behind you."

"Someone should stay here to turn the machine on again in case something goes wrong and it shuts off," said the prince's double, "Nice though my world is, I'm sure you don't want to get stuck there." He looked round at their faces, "I just volunteered, didn't I?"

"It did seem like you were handling yourself pretty well against the prince," said the Red Ranger.

"And it really shouldn't take us long to just try the morphers," agreed Nick.

"It's decided then," Vida said, before the man had a chance to argue. She turned to the machine and started pressing the controls she'd seen Cam pressed. Then she threw the big switch and the machine hummed into life, energy filling the archway.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Xander asked.

"I've been through it and back," Dustin said. Xander looked Dustin up and down, taking in the angry red shade of his torso and the multiple cuts that covered him.

"This happened afterwards," Dustin said, trying to cover himself as best he could with his arms.

"Stop being such a wimp," Vida told Xander, not showing a trace of the nerves she actually felt. She stepped into the energy. She felt herself falling, lights streaming around her. It was both exhilarating and utterly terrifying, tumbling through somewhere outside of normal dimensions. She wondered if the fall would ever end and then she stepped out of a similar archway into somewhere completely different.

The room was obviously some sort of lab, but there were skeletons imbedded in the walls. A logo that looked a lot like the prince's sign was emblazoned on the walls. Vida looked around a little as the others stumbled from the machine.

The sound of running feet became obvious even over the thrumming of the machine. Then two men hurried down a set of stairs into the room. The two were nearly identical and Vida recognise their faces as being that of the prince's lover. They both stared, watching the teenagers who emerged from the archway, looking hopefully for another after the last had stepped through.

"Where's Tommy?" asked one.

"He stayed behind to make sure he could turn the machine on again if something went wrong," explained Vida, pulling her spell phone from her pocket.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready," the others responded.

"Magical source, Mystic Force!"

No one had ever told them they'd have to move their arms but, as she began to speak the words, Vida began to gesture instinctively. She finished the gesture, arm stretched high, and she felt strength flowing into her. She felt the magic tingling through her veins and knew she was stronger and faster and more powerful than she'd ever been. She grinned behind her helmet, taking in the sight of the others in their Ranger forms.

"I've got a cape!" Chip yelled excitedly, spinning slightly and staring over his should like a dog chasing its tail. Vida laughed.

"The rate things are going," said one of the men, "your world will soon have more active Rangers than ours."

"This is amazing!" said Xander, "The prince doesn't stand a chance now." There was a short silence. Vida looked across at the prince's lover, as did most of the others. He just shrugged.

"I know you're all trying to kill him. You don't have to act like it's any other way." He turned and started walking up the stairs. His alter-ego hesitated, looking as though he wasn't sure if he should call him back or run after him.

Instead, he turned to Vida and the other Mystics, "Have you been able to use the database to find any more Rangers?"

Vida stared blankly, not quite sure what he was talking about. There'd been no mention of any database when she'd left Mercer to go and find the others. But then again, there'd been two other Rangers fighting the dark guards, so she guessed that was an answer.

"Ethan's now a Ranger," she said, "and there was a Red Ranger of the same type."

The man nodded, "And Tommy's OK? No one's assumed he's evil and tried to kill him."

Chip raised an embarrassed hand, "I did apologise."

"Please, try and persuade him to come back. He's a great man, but he'll rush into dangerous situations without even thinking. I'd hate for someone to hurt him thinking he's your prince just because he didn't consider how stupid it was to go through to your world."

"We'll pass on the message," said Vida. She was actually grateful for the instructions. It meant she could politely tell the man to get lost. It was their world and their war and they could probably win it now.

"Power down!" She felt the energy draining from her but, despite this momentary loss of power, she still felt stronger than she had done before she'd morphed. The others followed her example and stood there grinning at her as they considered their new potential.

"We should get back," Maddy said. Vida nodded and once more led the way through the arch.

The rush of energy was less terrifying this time. Instead, she felt it like the thrill of a rollercoaster, the adrenaline pumping and her heart beating faster as she tasted her own fear.

Then she'd returned to Mercer's store room. She looked around for the prince's double so she could pass on his lover's message. She'd expected him to stay close by the machine, but he was nowhere in sight. Vida waited until the others had all come through and then she shut the thing down. She'd thought maybe he'd return when he heard the hugging fade.

But there was only the silence of the dead machines.

"Where the hell is he?" asked Nick.

Vida shrugged, still staring around. She noticed the scuffed marks on the ground nearby where someone had disturbed the dust a hell of a lot. But there was no sign of the prince's double.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tori waited nervously in the corridor of the teleportation bay. No one quite knew what they were getting into. All they knew so far was that they were going to be teleporting down to the White Ranger's base. Whether they'd find the prince's forces there or not, no one could guess.

She checked that the band of cloth around her arm was still tied tightly. The rebels hadn't been able to provide uniforms for everyone who joined up with them, so this flimsy band of colour was all that would identify her as friend rather than enemy. In the chaos of combat, it seemed a small thing to pin her safety on.

"If you see any humans who aren't wearing rebel identification," called Andros from his place at the end of the corridor, "shoot to stun. We can't be certain whether the people at this base are friend or enemy so go for a quick capture rather than a kill. Also, this eliminates the chances of any deaths due to friendly fire. If you see any of the prince's creatures, destroy them on sight."

That was one relief anyway. Tori checked the settings on her blaster for what seemed like the thousandth time. Yes, they were still on stun this time as well.

"It'll be OK," Shane said. "Look around you. We've got hundreds on our side and they're not expecting us." Tori nodded. Her mouth was too dry for her to speak.

"We're now entering teleportation ranger," came Zhane's voice through the speakers.

"Prepare to move out," Andros called. "Let's rocket!" And then the Red Astro Ranger stood there and was the first to step into the cubicles to teleport down.

Tori tried not to wonder how the ship managed to avoid them teleporting into each other as she stepped into one of the tiny rooms and let the stream of light engulf her. A moment later, she was standing in somewhere that had clearly seen better days. The room looked as though a bomb had hit it. Judging from the scorch marks and the fact a good deal of the ceiling had cave in, that might well have been what had happened.

"Teams three and six, secure this area. The rest, prepare to perform a search the facility," Andros ordered.

"Which team were we on again?" Shane whispered to Tori.

"Twelve," she whispered back.

Most of the rebels began moving through the only door. Or rather, through what was left of the only door. But the corridor outside soon began to divide and have passage coming off it. Andros send the various teams down different routes and soon there were only the five other members of team twelve walking beside Tori. Aside from Shane, she didn't know any of them. They made their way down green corridors, hearing no sounds but those of their movement.

"Kind of spooky, huh?" said one of them, but Shane hushed him. They were supposed to be listening out for enemies.

Tori and Shane were in the lead and stepped round a corner to come face to face with probably the last person Tori expected to see. Dustin was standing with two other guys, but Tori wasn't interested in them. She just gaped at the sight of Dustin's bare torso. It looked like he'd been attacked by a cheese grater or something, judging by the hundreds of tiny cuts that covered him. Whatever had happened since his brief appearance back in Cam's base, it really couldn't have been good.

"Hold your fire!" Shane said as the other members of the team quickly raised their weapons, "Dustin's one of us."

"And the other two?" asked the guy who'd thought this place spooky.

"This is Connor and Ethan," said Dustin, "They're both Rangers. Me too!" He waved his wrist, which bore the device Cam had taken from his base. At least something had gone right for him then. He seemed excited enough about that fact that it possibly didn't bother him that he'd obviously been through considerable pain to get to this point.

"How did you guys get in here?" asked Ethan.

"Teleported," Tori replied, "What's going on round here?"

"The prince attacked," Dustin replied, "We think he's still here somewhere. But we got rid of the dark guards."

Tori wasn't quite sure how to react to that. The dark guards were the stuff of nightmares, and the cause of many. For someone to actually claim to had fought them and won was amazing. But Dustin wasn't the sort to lie.

"We're trying to find Mercer and the others," Ethan said, "They're somewhere here and won't stand a chance in the prince finds them."

"Well, there are a couple of hundred of Andros' people here too," said Shane. "This could get interesting."

"Let's try and get to Dr Mercer," said Dustin. "He won't have a clue what's going on."

"This way," Ethan said, and started leading them back the way Tori's group had just come.

"Shouldn't we be shooting them?" one team twelve muttered to Shane. Shane just shrugged.

"I'd rather have a Power Ranger beside me able to fight than have to lug around his unconscious body. How about you?"

No one contradicted him. Tori just hoped that argument would work when they had to explain this to Andros later.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Anton was getting dozens of warnings that his shields were being penetrated, but he didn't care. This base had ceased to be safe when the prince had tricked Trent to get here. Now all Anton cared about was finding where Trent had gone.

Anton was in his study, using the secondary controls. They were still working to some extent, though most of the advanced functionality had stopped due to damage elsewhere. He was desperately trying to get his invisiportal controls here to log the last commands from the controls in the main console. He didn't know how much time he had, either before some of the invaders found him or before Trent...

He didn't dare finish that thought.

Trent would be alright. There was simply no other alternative.

At last! The coordinates appeared on his screen. He got the satellite surveillance system to bring up an image of the location and he saw what looked like a desert. There were a couple of dark guards moving around, apparently looking for something. Or someone. There was no sign of Trent anywhere.

Without the power of the main control room, Anton couldn't locate the signal from Trent's morpher. He settled for widening the view of the area in case he could see some sign of him. But there was no movement apart from the hunting of the guards. It was always possible Trent was using his chameleon power to hide from the dark guards.

There was a strange building on a hill, close to where the invisiportal had gone. Anton focussed on that, wondering if maybe Trent had gone there and that was why he wasn't visible in the desert. The building was made of pale stone, with no easily recognisable architectural style. It had what looked a little like towers in its corners.

Anton frowned as he got a report of strange energy readings coming from it.

Well, it was obvious he wasn't going to find Trent standing here. Anton tapped into the invisiportal network to send him to that building. It was far enough away from the guards that he should be able to get back to the portal if they spotted him. Trent was worth the risk.

Anton stepped into the portal, arriving in the dry heat of the desert. He looked at the building in front of him. It seemed more impressive in person than it had on the screen. Well, there had to be a way in somewhere, so he started to walk around the base of the building.

He hadn't gone far when a white light completely engulfed him and the desert vanished.


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

Tommy watched the Mystics head through to his world. A large part of him wanted to go with them and just forget all about this crazy situation. But he'd help deal with the prince first.

The instant the last of the Mystics stepped through the portal, something hit Tommy in the back of the head.

He went to the floor, momentarily stunned. In that moment something was gripping his right wrist. He tried to see what, but there was no sign of anything. Through the confused haze he recognised as severe concussion, thoughts were trying to get his attention about invisibility.

He struck out at the air above his left arm and made contact with something, but not before his bracelet was pulled from his wrist. Tommy saw the Gem take on a slight glow as it recognised it was being held by one who owned it.

Even with the throbbing in his head and the muddled chaos of his mind, he could work out what that meant.

Something hit him in the head again.

Tommy turned invisible as an instinctive defence. That caused a very strange effect. Standing over him was another version of himself, transparent to the point where he was barely more than an impression in the air. Clearly, from the fact the prince was still looking at his face, this worked the other way around too. It seemed the invisible could see the invisible.

"Give that back," Tommy said, getting somewhat unsteadily to his feet. Very severe concussion.

"Are you crazy?" the prince mocked. "This Gem has some interesting benefits, don't you think?"

"You can't have two Powers at the same time," Tommy said, desperately hoping he was right. He'd never heard of anyone having two Powers, but then again, Rangers in his world lost their abilities so often it could almost be considered carelessness. No one had ever had the opportunity to have more than one of a type.

"I can have all the powers I want. You won't be able to stop me now." The prince put the bracelet on his own wrist.

"Don't!"

"Dino Thunder! Power up! Ha!"

And there died any hopes Tommy might have had that the Gem wouldn't work while the prince was still the Green Ranger. He stood facing the Black Dino Ranger.

"I can see why you like this thing," the prince said. Then he jumped into the fight with a tornado kick.

The earlier blow to the head wasn't doing Tommy's fighting skills any favours and he doubted he'd have stood much chance against his morphed form at the best of times. He tried as best he could to block the prince's attacks, but as a Ranger, he was too strong and too fast. The prince lifted Tommy off the ground and flung him through the air, to crash into the wall by the door.

"Don't do this," Tommy said, scrambling to his feet again, "You can't want this. I know the real Tommy Oliver doesn't want to be evil."

"People change."

"The part of you that still loves Jason, that's the real you. That person wouldn't want you to do this."

"Jason is gone."

"Don't you even miss him?"

That got a reaction. It wasn't much of one, but the prince hesitated slightly. Then he came at Tommy again, lifting him up by the shoulders and slamming him against the wall. He sounded more angry than ever.

"It doesn't matter!"

"If you ever really loved him," Tommy continued, "you can't do this. You have to fight the evil."

"It's too late for that," the prince said, "I've done all I can for Jason."

"You can't want this life."

"You're right. I don't want this life."

With that, the prince flung Tommy through the doorway and out into the hall. His head struck the wall again and for several moments, he didn't even have the wits to try and stand. When he did, it was to see new figures coming round the corner. Tommy stared at the Red Astro Ranger, who was aiming a gun directly at him.

Oh sh...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jason watched the newly formed Rangers head back to their world and saw the portal shut down. He stood a few moments longer, thinking about Tommy and hoping that he was still alright on the other side. Then he decided he probably ought to go and find out what had happened to his other self.

Then he heard the machine hum into life again.

He was back down the stairs in an instant and started grinning as he saw Tommy come through. He gave himself a moment to be glad that his friend was OK, and to check that he was wearing this world's morpher. Then he got mad.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he began, "I know you must have a brain or you wouldn't have all those letters after your name, but does it even occur to you to use it when your life is in danger? That was probably the stupidest thing you've ever done! And I can give you quite a long list of stupid things. What was going through your mind when you decided to go to another universe where most of the population want to kill you? And what would happen to this world if you got stuck there? Did you even think about how your students would manage if you weren't around any more? And it didn't even occur to you to mention to your friends that you were about to do something so utterly reckless. How the hell have you managed not to get killed yet?"

"Are you done?" Tommy asked when Jason had to pause for breath.

"Not even close," Jason replied, then he started grinning again, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. And Andros has captured the prince. I don't think we'll be needing this again." Tommy nodded towards the machine.

"What about the other Jason? Doesn't he still want to go home?"

"I think I can persuade him to stay. He's not got much to go back for now, and the people there aren't exactly friendly towards him."

"So this thing's over?"

Tommy smiled, "It's over. We won't be needing anything more to do with the other world." 


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

The light faded and Anton found himself standing in a room glittering with technology. There were panels and lights that served purposes he couldn't even guess at. There was the bottom half of a large cylinder rising up at one side of the room, ending in a jagged edge of broken glass. And there, lying on a low bed in the middle of the room, was Trent.

Anton rushed over to him.

"Trent? Trent, are you alright?" But there was no response. Anton took Trent's hand, but it was icy to the touch. The boy was shaking violently, shivering at a cold that came from within. There were particles of ice on his skin from what little moisture there was in there. By some miracle, he was still alive, but seeing his pale, frozen face, Anton couldn't believe that it would last for long.

Tears pricked Anton's eyes as he wished the prince dead a thousand times over for doing this to his son. Anton tried to brush some of the ice from Trent's cheek, but the boy gave a slight moan, his head shifting slightly to pull away from the touch.

"The dark guard's evil is fighting with his Ranger powers. He's been getting gradually colder since we brought him here."

Anton turned to see a young, Asian woman standing beside one of the panels. There was something familiar about her, but Anton was too worried about Trent to care what.

"Can you save him?" he asked.

"I don't think anyone can. No one should have two conflicting powers inside them. We've experimented with removing the dark guard's power from their victims, but so far we've had no success."

"But what about removing his Ranger powers?"

"Even if we managed that, it wouldn't do anything more than prolong his life by hours, maybe a couple of days. Removing the dark guard's evil is the only way to save him, and we don't know of any way to do that."

"So I'm supposed to just sit here and let him die?" asked Anton. There was anger in his voice, but it wasn't directed at this woman. It was anger at the prince for causing this, at Dark Spectre for giving him the power, even at Trent for being so reckless and putting himself in this position. He had to do something. He was supposed to be a fighter, a leader in this war. People looked to him to find a way to save the world, and now he didn't even know how to save his son.

This was all his fault. He'd given the Gem to Trent before he'd fully understood what it would do. He'd created this Ranger who stopped being the boy he knew. And that reckless, impulsive fighter had walked headlong into the prince's trap.

"All we can do is try and make him comfortable," the woman said, walking to stand across the bed from Anton. "I'm Trini Kwan."

The name sparked recollection in Anton's mind and he knew why this woman's face had seemed familiar. He'd seen her photographed in Oliver's database.

"The Yellow Ranger?"

"Once. Not for a very long time."

"What is this place?"

"This was our Command Centre back before the Green Ranger attacked us and destroyed our Power Coins. This was the place we worked from to save the world. Now, we work to undo the prince's evil powers and run into failure at every turn."

"Who's 'we'?" Anton asked. He was answered by a previously hidden door opening in one of the dark walls. A young brunette came into the room. He was able to recognise her quickly as the woman who'd once been the Pink Ranger.

Then he ceased to care.

"Dad?" The word was a barely-audible moan, but Anton's attention instantly turned to Trent. The boy's eyes had opened and he peered up at him, clearly confused.

"Hi, Trent," Anton said, reaching to brush a strand of hair from Trent's forehead. His skin was warmer now. Still cold, but not the iciness it had been.

"M'sorry," Trent managed.

"It's OK, Trent. I love you. You'll be OK."

Trini had picked up some sort of scanner and was running it over Trent.

"I don't believe this," she said, "the dark guard's power has vanished."

"That's impossible," said Kimberly, hurrying across to view the scanner results with her friend.

"Thank you," Anton said, smiling at the two women with more joy than he'd thought it possible to feel. Trent had stopped shivering now and was managing to move slightly, reaching up to rub at his eyes. He was going to be alright. Anton wanted to scream and cheer and to hug Trent so tightly he'd never be able to let go.

"This wasn't us," said Trini. She went over to one of the control panels, a confused frown on her face. Anton couldn't understand how she could look so worried when a miracle had just occurred.

"There's no sign of the dark guards who were around the Command Centre," Trini said, "I'm widening the search."

"Dad? What's going on?"

"It doesn't matter," Anton said, "You're alive. You're safe." He wanted to hold Trent, but the boy was still looking pale and weak, so Anton settled for clinging to his hand.

"There's no trace of dark guards anywhere," Trini said.

"Something must have happened to the prince," said Kimberly.

Anton could make one guess as to what. Or rather, who. Was it possible that the other world's Tommy Oliver had defeated this world's? The two had been starting to fight when Anton had left. If the prince was defeated, the creatures made by his dark powers might conceivably vanish.

Trent was pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Lie still," Anton said. "You've been through a lot today."

"I feel fine," Trent answered. "In fact, I feel like me."

"What?"

"The anger I've had inside me since I became the White Ranger, it's gone. I feel... normal."

Anton started laughing. He wasn't quite sure of the joke, but tension he'd been feeling for so long just fell away. Miracle after miracle. He'd struggled so hard to try and end the hold the Gem had over Trent's mind. Now, this battle between powers seemed to have done it for him. His son was back, as he should be. Trent was safe.

"We're getting a signal," Kimberly said, "It's being broadcast through the entire galaxy."

The two women turned to a white globe, which filled with colour as it began to display images. Anton and Trent watched too as the face of Andros appeared in the globe.

"Today, is our day of victory. The dark prince is defeated. The evil that has oppressed us for so long has been ended!" There was the sound of cheering coming from wherever Andros was. The image in the globe shifted to reveal the prince, unconscious and heavily chained, being watched over by several rebel guards.

"I just hope they got the right one," Anton said.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tori's little group rounded a corner to come gun-to-gun with another group. She noticed the bands of colour around their arms and they clearly saw the ones most of her group wore. The guns lowered after barely a moment's hesitation.

"We're all being recalled," said the guy at the front of the other group. "Andros has captured the prince!" His excitement was obvious and, apparently, contagious. Tori found herself grinning like a lunatic.

It was over. They'd won. This crazy war had gone on so many years that it was hard to imagine a life free from the prince's rule. But they'd done it. Despite all the fears that said they were all in for nothing more than a slow fight and a grisly death, they'd actually managed it.

They started down the corridor the other rebel pointed at as the way back to Andros. It was only when they'd walked a few metres that Tori noticed the worried glances being exchanged between Dustin, Connor and Ethan. Shane was leading the way, with the guys Tori didn't know right behind him. Tori fell back a little way so that she could talk to the Rangers without the strangers over-hearing.

"Have I missed something?" she asked, "You don't look particularly pleased."

"I just hope he's got the right one," Ethan said in a low voice. Tori looked puzzled, so Dustin explained.

"The prince's double came through from the other world. Both of them were on this base. It's possible Andros has got the wrong guy."

"They look identical," added Connor.

Tori thought of Kira, who'd looked just like the girl she'd known but who had been a stranger to her. If the two Kiras had stood side by side, Tori doubted she'd have been able to tell them apart. It seemed likely that Andros would face the same difficulty and he hadn't seemed too convinced by Tori's story of a girl from another universe.

The group hurried back to the room they'd first teleported into. Andros was there, supervising as others put heavy chains around the prince's wrists and ankles, making sure he was held with restraints even the strength of the dark prince couldn't damage. The unconscious man certainly looked like the prince.

"He's wearing black," said Connor in a worried whisper. Shane had gone with the other members of team twelve to make their report, but Tori stayed with the three Rangers, watching the prince. She wasn't quite sure what the prince's sartoirl preferences had to do with anything.

"I wasn't really paying attention to what the prince was wearing," said Ethan, "You?"

Dustin shook his head, "I was too busy thinking 'Argh! We're all going to die'."

They fell silent as Andros came over to them. Presumably, Shane had finished his report. Andros acknowledged Dustin with a nod.

"Welcome back, Dustin," he said.

"Um, thanks," Dustin said.

"So, you two are Rangers?" Andros asked.

"Yes," Connor replied, "We don't have any reason to fight you."

"Good."

"Was he wearing a bracelet?" asked Dustin, "The prince, I mean. When you captured him, was he wearing a silver bracelet with a black stone in it?"

"No," said Andros, "Why?"

Dustin hesitated then said, "It doesn't really matter."

Andros gave him a puzzled look but presumably dismissed it as Dustin just being weird. He turned away to listen to the report of another team that had just arrived back.

"Aren't you going to tell him?" Tori asked, somewhat confused.

"Andros hates the prince more than anyone else in the universe," said Dustin. "If he hears there's another version of him somewhere on this base, he's going to want to get him too."

"The dude's got a point," said Connor, "If most people hear that there's a copy of the prince wandering around, they're not going to believe he's not evil. The good one can go invisible. He can just hide until we've all gone and then go back to his own world. No one needs to know he was here."

Tori still wasn't sure. She knew they certainly had a point about Andros hating the prince. He'd probably want to kill another world's version just on the off-chance he might really be evil. His desire for revenge and his unquestioning hatred might be enough to have him hunt down the prince in every possible universe.But she didn't see how these guys could be so certain that the man being chained up was really the prince. She said as much.

"He told us we could identify him by the bracelet," said Ethan. "He's not going to take it off after that."

Tori supposed that was true. She also figured that someone who could turn invisible at will was unlikely to get caught, even by Andros. They were probably right. The prince was the person being prepared for teleportation as a prisoner.

"So what do we do now?" Tori asked.

"The prince is captured, the universe is safe and we're all free?" said Connor, "I say we party."


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

Tommy opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. The sight that met him was of a small cell and the heavy chains attached to his wrists, ankles and waist. He could barely move his feet more than a couple of inches apart. His hands were shackled to a belt and there were three different chains attaching his restraints to the walls.

The fact that he was still alive appeared to be the only bright side.

He didn't have his morpher. Instead, that was in the hands of the prince, who now had all the powers of the Black Ranger and could be hiding in either world. He was a prisoner of people would had a great many reasons to want to kill him painfully and who were unlikely to believe he was good. This probably ranked as the worst situation he'd ever been in, particularly since he couldn't even fight his way free without hurting the good guys.

He couldn't even expect a rescue attempt, since the world-crossing machine could only be activated from this side. Even with Hayley working flat out to finish her machine, there was no way that anyone from his world could get through to help him in time.

At least he knew that some people from this world knew about him. When the Mystics came back, they would know he was missing and would be able to work out that Andros had captured the wrong guy. He hoped. There was just the slight problem that he'd told them his bracelet would identify him as the good guy, and now the prince had that. If the prince could bluff the Mystics, there'd be no one to know that a mistake had been made.

The door to the cell opened and Tommy looked up to see Andros, aiming a laser at Tommy's head.

So, this was how it was going to end. All the monsters he'd fought, all the villains he'd helped bring down, and he was going to be killed by one of the good guys. That sucked.

"You're making a mistake," Tommy said, on the off-chance that Andros might believe him.

"Don't try and threaten me," Andros said. "You'll pay for all you've done."

"I'm not who you think I am. I'm not the prince."

"I think I know the face of the man who murdered my friends right in front of me."

Tommy had never seen anyone with such an expression of hate as Andros wore now. The Red Ranger looked at Tommy with such loathing that it was almost tangible. Tommy wanted to just look away from the accusation in that stare.

"I'm from another world, another universe where the course of history ran differently. I came through to help you defe..." Tommy stopped speaking when Andros fired the laser. The blast struck the wall about an inch from Tommy's head.

Tommy stared at the blackened scorch mark on the metal.

"I don't want to hear your lies," Andros said, "I just came to ask you one question. Why did you save my life?"

Tommy didn't think anything Andros might have asked could have astonished him more. He gaped at Andros, his mind trying to comprehend just what the other man meant and what could possibly have led to someone as evil as the prince apparently was saving the life of an enemy.

"When you kill the other Astro Rangers," Andros asked, "why did you save me? Why didn't you kill me when Dark Spectre ordered you to?"

"That wasn't me," Tommy said, "I told you, I'm from another world. I don't know why the Tommy Oliver from this world did anything."

That obviously wasn't the answer that Andros wanted. Andros rushed at him, not bothering with the gun this time. He grabbed the front of Tommy's t-shirt and almost lifted him off the floor, pressing Tommy into the wall. He glared at Tommy from a distance of only a couple of inches, glaring at him with such fierceness that Tommy wanted to cringe away.

"Tell me the truth!" Andros ordered. "Why am I still alive?"

And there Tommy saw the true source of Andros' hatred. He hated the prince because the prince had shown he could be capable of mercy in sparing Andros, but hadn't shown any of that mercy towards the Astro Rangers. Andros hated him because of the unknown reason that had meant one had survived. He stood over Tommy now, desperate to learn whether or not there had been any way that the others might have been saved. He suffered the guilt of the lone survivor, and he didn't eve know why.

"Why did you save me?" Andros demanded.

"I don't know."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jason heard scrabbling sounds coming from the study and decided to investigate. It turned out that the sounds were made by Tommy searching through every drawer and pile of paper in the whole, untidy room.

"Are you OK?" Jason asked.

Tommy jumped at the sound of his voice. Then he smiled.

"I've put my lesson plans down somewhere and I can't for the life of me remember where."

Jason laughed, "You'd forget your own head if it wasn't screwed on." Jason joined in the search, uncovering the pile of carefully written and organised lesson plans beneath a roadmap and a newpaper that was several weeks out of date.

"I don't know how you manage it, bro," Jason said, handing over the pile of papers. Tommy just shrugged and put the plans in his briefcase, but not before Jason noticed another bit of paper in there.

"You still need a map of the school?" he asked.

"I needed it for most of the first semester," Tommy answered, "and I guess I never got round to taking it out of my case. I'll see you later."

"See you."

And then Tommy was gone, heading out to work. Jason watched him leave, not quite certain why he felt so worried. Something just didn't feel right. It wasn't Tommy losing his papers; the sun would rise in the west the day Tommy remembered everything he was supposed to. It was something else, and Jason couldn't even work out what it was.

Maybe he was just being paranoid. After all, it had been years since he and Tommy had spent any great length of time together. Sure, they visited each other fairly regularly, but he wasn't used to constantly being around Tommy any more. People picked up all sorts of speech patterns and manerisms from the people they associated with. The subtle differences that Jason kept noticing were probably no more than that.

Probably.

It was just that this whole evil twin thing had Jason worried.

The man who'd just left the house to go teach science to teenagers didn't seem evil. He'd seemed... Tommy.

Jason wasn't sure if he should even talk to the others about this. They knew Tommy as he was now, not as he'd been in high school. Surely they'd have noticed if there was something different about Tommy since he'd returned from the other world. They'd have mentioned it if they'd noticed something odd. Wouldn't they?

Jason didn't know how to deal with this. Monsters were easy. You kicked them and shot at them until they exploded. People were harder.

Jason didn't know if he was worrying about nothing. That man didn't seem evil and from everything he'd heard, the Tommy from the other world was an absolute monster. He wouldn't care about going to a school to face a load of kids who wanted to be anywhere else. He wouldn't have been joking with the two Jasons at the breakfast table that morning.

He was just being paranoid.

Probably.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_  
"I can give you all the power you could ever want. I can make you stronger than anyone else. No one will hurt you ever again. You will be the one doing the hurting."_

Tommy smiled at the thought. This evil that had awoken inside him reached the darkness corners of his soul. All the quiet little voices that enjoyed the thought of violence had started screaming into his mind. He could hurt those who'd hurt him. He could hurt those who rejected him. His friends had turned away from him when he'd offered his life to save them. Zack had come after him when Tommy was preparing to leave. Zack had punched him in the face when Tommy had been planning to save them all, no matter what it cost himself. Zack would pay for that.

"Prove your allegience to me," Dark Spectre said, "I will give you everything you want. Just kill the Rangers."

Tommy raised the gun he'd been given. He didn't even hesitate as he pulled the trigger and shot the Black Ranger right in the heart. The man tumbled backwards, his morph shattering as he fell. Tommy fired again. The man was dead before he hit the floor.

There was laughter and cheering. From Dark Spectre, from Lord Zedd, from all the others gathered to watch the rise of the new prince.

"Finish it," laughed Dark Spectre.

Tommy smiled as he raised the gun again. He shot the Yellow Ranger and watched her fall. He watched her die. Then the blue. Then the pink.

He raised the gun once more, aiming it at the chest of the Red Ranger.

Red Ranger.

The thought whispered beneath the clammerings for violence. The thought meant more than the promise of power. Red Ranger. Jason.

Tommy's mind was filled with memories of touches in the darkness, when even the evil of his soul was warmed by Jason's kisses. He remembered the whispered declaration of love.

He looked and saw the Red Ranger standing in front of him and he saw Jason.

Tommy fired.

The laser blast struck the chains that held the Ranger. The metal shattered and he was free. Tommy fired the gun was more, blowing a hole in the doorway. Dark Spectre was screaming with rage, but the Red Ranger saw his offered freedom. He ran. 


	32. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty One**

Dustin saw Maddy and her friends and waved them over to where he was sitting with Shane, Tori, Connor and Ethan. They were aboard the Astro Megaship, which was on route to KO-35 where the prince would be formally, humanely and very publicly executed.

"You guys do it?" Dustin asked.

"I've got a cape!" declared Chip excitedly.

"Yeah, we're Rangers now," said Vida. "So, is the guy Andros captured really the prince?"

Dustin had sort of hoped that Vida would answer that question instead of asking it. After all, her group had been the last to see the good version. Dustin was wishing now he'd listened to the man's advice about not splitting up, but at the time he'd been too busy worrying about Hunter. Right now, he still didn't know what had happened to the other ninja and Andros wasn't at all bothered with letting him find out.

"He's not wearing the bracelet," Ethan said, "but he was unconscious when we saw him and we've not been able to get to the cells to talk to him. Don't you guys know what happened to the good one?"

"When we got back from his world, he was nowhere to be found," said Nick, "Next thing we know, there were rebels everywhere, all shooting at us."

"So it's possible that Andros' prisoner is the wrong guy?" asked Tori.

"It's possible," said Vida. "I can't imagine him losing the bracelet though. Not after telling us that we could recognise him by it."

"We should tell someone," said Connor, "Shouldn't we tell someone? Who should we tell?"

"Not Andros. He's not going to listen," said Dustin.

"Zhane," said Tori.

Five minutes later, the group was inside Zhane's room trying to make their story sound even vaguely comprehensible. Zhane listened while they spoke and interrupted each other and broke into arguments about the details of the story. When they'd finally finished, he just sat there in silence for a bit, trying to understand.

"So, what do you expect me to do?" Zhane asked.

"Just let us talk to him," said Vida, "We can find out if he's the good one or not."

Zhane sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "We got hundreds of people a minute getting in touch with us saying they want to see the prince. We've got victims, families of victims and people who's loved ones are still unaccounted for, all wanting five minutes alone with him so that they can get their revenge. If they find out we've been making exceptions and letting him get visitors, there'll be hell to pay."

"We won't say a word," Tori said, "to anyone."

"One of you can see him," Zhane said.

The group looked at each other, all wondering the same thing. Who would be the best placed to tell the difference between the two men. Tori and Shane obviously didn't stand a chance of being certain one way or the other. The rest of them had seen the good version in Mercer's base, but the prince had been around then, hiding. There was still a chance he might know anything that had been said there. Dustin knew the choice was obvious. The others had probably worked out the same thing he had, but none of them had said anything yet.

He would have to be the one to go in there and face someone who was probably the most evil person in existence. He would have to be alone in the same room as the prince, to test this slim chance that he wasn't.

"I met the good version in his own world," Dustin said. "It should be me."

He'd really hoped someone would argue, but instead there were nods of agreement. Dustin took a deep breath and then set off towards the cells with Zhane. He tried to tell himself that he would be perfectly safe. The prince was heavily restrained and, besides, he was a Ranger now. He could defend himself. But that didn't stop Dustin being terrified. This man had all the powers of a Ranger plus the magic Dark Spectre had given him. There was no telling what he was capable of, even chained in a cell.

They reached the cells. It was easy to tell which door had the prince behind it, because there were a dozen guards positioned outside. They nodded an acknowledgement to Zhane, who used his palm print to unlock the door.

"I'll open the door again in two minutes," Zhane said. Dustin nodded. His mouth was too dry to speak. He guessed it was a security feature that the two wouldn't open from the other side. Dustin would have no way out if the prince tried to kill him in the first minute.

The door slid open and Dustin walked in. The man chained in the corner looked up, a desolate expression replaced by a look of hope when he saw who stood there.

"Dustin? Dustin, I'm not the prince. He stole my morpher. He's got the powers of the Dino Gem and he could be hiding anywhere."

Dustin supposed that was what either would say. He swallowed nervously. There was no trace of evil on this man's features, but he supposed the prince was probably pretty good at pretending.

"Prove it," Dustin said.

The man thought for a moment.

"Kira brought you to my world to get your Ranger powers. You're the Yellow Ninja Storm Ranger."

"I told the prince that when he used the mind-control spell on me."

Dustin could almost feel the seconds ticking by. He was less nervous now. This man hadn't made any move to attack him; he seemed to genuinely want nothing more than to prove his innocence.

"When I came down the stairs into the lab," the man said, "you looked like you wanted to fight me. But Kira stopped you. She said you'd promised not to kill anyone in my world that wasn't slimy, scaly or looked like someone in a bad Halloween costume."

That was exactly what Kira had told him. And the Black Ranger had heard it in a place that was worlds away from the prince. Dustin knew what he'd told the prince about the other world and knew that the prince had never asked for any information on the conversations that had occurred while Dustin was there.

Terrified as he'd been of facing the prince, Dustin had truly been hoping that that was who he'd find in here. Now a cold dread settled over him, like a lead weight in his stomach, as he realised that it was an innocent victim who was on his way to face execution tomorrow.

"You told Kira something," Dustin said, despite the fact he no longer really doubted this man's story.

"I told her that Connor and Ethan were covering for her," the man said, "but that they wouldn't be able to stop her mum calling missing persons if she wasn't home soon."

That was the moment that Zhane opened the door again. The man said nothing else, but he gave Dustin a long, pleading look, begging silently to be believed. Dustin stepped out into the corridor and looked Zhane in the eye.

"He's the wrong one."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you think it's weird that Dr O didn't refer to anyone by name during that class?" asked Kira as the group wandered between science and French.

Connor shrugged, "I didn't notice."

"He was slightly... odd," Trent said.

"We're talking about a science teacher who can turn invisible and who frequently saves the world," Ethan pointed out.

"I know that. He just didn't seem quite right."

"In what way?" asked Connor.

"I don't know," said Trent.

"There was nothing really major," said Kira, thinking back over the lesson they'd just had. There had just been a feeling as she'd watched Dr O teach. Some instinct was telling her something wasn't right.

"But sometimes he'd say something in a way that would make a bit of your brain go 'what was that'?" Ethan said, summing up Kira's feelings pretty well.

"You think the evil one could have come from the other world?" Connor asked.

"I don't know," said Kira, "I mean, he hasn't tried to brutally torture anyone. I can't imagine an evil megalomaniac wanting to teach high school science?"

"I don't know," said Connor, "it seems like a good profession for someone who likes torturing teenagers."

"Not funny," muttered Ethan.

"Not even a little?"

The group had reached the French classroom and settled into seats in the back row. The conversation continued, but in somewhat hushed tones.

"Dr O hasn't really acted evil," Kira said.

"It could still be a trick though," said Ethan.

"He's got the Dino powers, right?" said Trent.

"Um, I think so. He was wearing the morpher."

"That's a good point. I can't imagine Dr O parting with that for anything."

"But the prince is supposed to be super-powerful, right?"

"Yeah, but powerful enough to take Dr O's gem from him?"

"Ahem," interupted a voice from the front of the classroom, "I hope you're talking in French back there."

Somewhat embarassed, the group fell silent and started paying attention to the teacher.

The lesson dragged on forever. Kira sat there, struggling to concentrate, instead worrying just what might happen if the prince came to their world disguised as Dr O. None of the possibilities were pleasant. At last, the bell rang. The four of them headed outside for free period and spotted one of the Jasons walking up to the school. Kira thought it was the one from their world.

"You here to see Dr O?" asked Connor.

"Actually, I was hoping to talk to you guys," Jason said. "Have you noticed anything different about Tommy?"

"Um, kinda," said Kira, "nothing I can really put my finger on."

"You think he might be the evil one?" asked Trent.

"I think it's worth checking. Better safe than sorry."

"But how can we check?"

"We just ask him things only the real Tommy would know. If he is Tommy, I'm sure he won't mind us being cautious."

They found Dr O alone in the science classroom, working through a pile of papers. He looked up and smiled when he saw them.

"Hi guys," he said. "Oh, Kira, I've got something for you. I didn't have a chance to give it to you earlier." He reached into his briefcase and pulled out her morpher. "Hayley thinks it should work normally now."

Kira took it with a surge of immense gratitude. She pulled the bracelet onto her wrist and felt... complete. It was as though some minute part of her had been missing until this moment. She smiled.

"Tommy," said Jason, not about to be put off, "can we ask you some things?"

"Sure, fire away."

Maybe that was a bad choice of words. There was a huge explosion outside the window and the whole building shook.

"Sorry, bro," Dr O said, "Duty calls." The Rangers stood in a line and began the morphing process. Kira guessed that it really must be the real Dr O. The evil one wouldn't be trying to save the world.

"Dino Thunder! Power Up! Ha!"

There was no pain this time. Kira felt the Power flow into her as the morph took affect and she was strong again. She was whole again. The morpher was repaired. 


	33. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty Two**

"Dustin has already admitted that the prince is capable of mind control," Andros said. "This is just a trick."

"But what if it's not?" Zhane said, "We can't execute the wrong man."

"That man is a psychopathic killer with Ranger abilities, magical powers and the capacity to summon beings of pure evil who kill with a touch. Every minute we let him live is a minute that every person on this ship and in the rest of the universe is in danger."

"Just think about it, Andros. Tori talked about this other universe. Dustin, Maddy and the other Mystics have all apparently been there. There is a chance that the man in the cell isn't the prince." Zhane still wasn't sure he believed them, but even the slimmest chance of killing someone for crimes they didn't commit was just unacceptable. There'd been a time when Andros would have said the same thing. But not today.

"There is another, larger chance that this is all an elabourate ruse to try and get us to free him. We're lucky that he hasn't summoned dark guards yet."

"Maybe that's evidence in favour of him not being the prince."

"We've been fortunate," said Andros, "But unless you can find me some proof, or another prince, the man will die tomorrow."

Andros walked from the room, leaving Zhane alone. Dustin had been so completely convinced that the man in the cells wasn't the real prince. If that was the case, Zhane had a day to find someone who could turn invisible and who could be anywhere in two universes. This was not going to be easy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Jason, can I talk to you?" Tommy called from the study as Jason let himself in. No doubt this was about the world-crossing machine. Tommy had made it pretty clear he didn't want anything else to do with the other universe and it seemed unlikely that anyone on the other side would open a portal for him, so it looked like Jason was stuck here. A part of him wondered if that was a bad thing. After all, if Tommy had been captured in his world, then the only thing he'd be going back to would be hatred and persecution.

Sure enough, Tommy continued with, "You really need to make a decision what you're going to do."

"I know. I've been talking it over a lot with your Jason, but I can't just forget about everything that's happened to me and pretend to be normal."

"You could stay here," Tommy said, "You wouldn't have much of a problem with things being normal." Jason managed a small smile at that joke, but he didn't really feel it. He saw this man, trying to be kind and helpful, and every moment was another shard of glass in his heart as he saw this reflection of his hopes.

"You look too much like him," Jason said, "but you're not him. I can't stay here."

"We could try. I don't want to be an evil dictator, but maybe I could feel for you what he did."

"I thought you said you'd never thought about me that way."

"I didn't. Not until you got here and opened my eyes to what might have been. The Jason of this world is my brother. Anything between us would be... weird. But you're not that man. I don't see why you and I shouldn't try."

Tommy had stood and walked across to Jason. He waited, right in front of Jason, waiting for Jason's permission or acceptance or something. Tommy wasn't trying to force him in any way.

Jason didn't know what to say. A Tommy who could love him without the evil was something he'd always imagined. Now maybe, just maybe it was possible. So why did he feel like he was betraying his Tommy? Jason tilted his head and leant in for the kiss.

It wasn't the kiss of someone experimenting. It was a kiss of someone familiar with the person they were kissing. It was filled with passion and desire and so much need that Jason broke away gasping for breath.

He stared at Tommy.

"No. It can't be."

"It's me, Jase."

"But how?"

"We can be together, Jase. I can be the Ranger you always wanted me to be."

Jason didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to think. The man he loved was standing right in front of him in a world where they weren't hated or feared. They had a chance for the life he'd always imagined. He should be happy.

"Where's the other Tommy?" he asked.

"Jason, I can be the man you want me to be. We have a chance for a fresh start, away from the past, away from all that I've done. We can start again as it always should have been."

"At the cost of an innocent man's life?"

Tommy put his hands on Jason's shoulders and looked him in the eye. Jason saw no trace of evil in that expression, just a deep sadness and a trace of desperation.

"Please," Tommy said, "tell me there's a chance that you can be happy like this?"

Jason saw this man. He saw in him the hero who had walked off to hand himself over to Lord Zedd for the sake of a world who hated him. He saw the man who'd stood between him and Goldar as Rita's palace fell apart around them. He saw the person who had chosen to save his life rather than take revenge when the White Ranger had shot Jason in the stomach to make his escape.

He loved Tommy. He had loved him for so long despite everything.

Tears filled Jason's eyes.

"I can't be happy with you if it's all a lie," Jason said.

Tommy nodded and turned away. Jason saw the hope fade from Tommy's eyes. He almost wanted to take back what he'd just said.

"Then there's only one thing to do," Tommy said, "If you want to truth, then I'll give it. I'll go back to our world and face Andros." Jason couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. How was this possible? He saw the bracelet on Tommy's wrist with the Dino Gem and wondered if its power had somehow freed Tommy from Dark Spectre's hold. However it had happened, Tommy now wanted to do the right thing. For the first time in years, he was acting like a hero again.

"But how will you get back?" Jason asked, "The portal doesn't open from this side."

Tommy turned sharply, looking at Jason now with surprise and worry.

"It doesn't?" 


	34. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty Three**

"What's the big emergency?" Kira asked, heading down to the lab. She was a lot less worried about Dr O now. He'd fought as well as usual in the battle earlier and he'd given her back her morpher. She hadn't seen him for the rest of the day at school, but she'd assumed Jason would finish their conversation. He would have called them if he suspected something.

Instead, they'd been called by Dr O.

Now, all the Rangers were gathered in the lab, along with Hayley and the two Jasons. Dr O stood in front of the computer and took a deep breath before addressing them.

"We need to open the portal again," Dr O said.

"But I told you," Hayley said, "I don't have most of the parts for the machine. There's not a chance."

"Then we need to find another way."

"Why?" asked Connor. He did sound suspicious. Kira's suspicions were back now too. She'd never seen Dr O look quite as nervous as this man did. He turned away from them, rubbing a hand over his face. Then he looked back at them.

"Because Andros has the wrong man," he said.

The true meaning of those words was obvious to all them. She'd been right to be worried. This man wasn't Dr O. This was the man who'd tortured her. This was the man who'd turned her morpher into a source of agony. This was the man who'd brought a whole galaxy to its knees under his tyranny.

Kira ran across the lab and punched him in the stomach.

One of the Jasons grabbed her and pushed her back.

"Hey! Stop! If you kill him, he can't help us get your Tommy back."

"Why would he help us?" demanded Ethan. He looked ready to fight. So the did others, particularly Hayley.

"When I took the Dino Gem," the evil Dr O said, "it's power changed me. It drove out the magic that Dark Spectre had put inside me. It got rid of the evil."

"Then why did you pretend to be Dr O?" asked Connor.

"I wanted a fresh start. I wanted to begin again somewhere that no one would know the evil I've done. I wanted a chance to be happy somewhere peaceful with Jason. But I can't do that if it's all built on a lie. I can't just pretend to be your Tommy Oliver. If I get a second chance, it's going to be because I earned it, not because I stole it."

He actually sounded sincere, but Kira wasn't sure she believed it. Yes, he'd given her back her powers, but he'd been the one who'd stolen them in the first place. He'd tortured her, groped her and threatened her and now she was just supposed to trust him. She wanted to just hit him again and again. But Dr O was in danger and saving people always came at the top of the priorities list.

"Hayley," said this world's Jason, "does your communications system have enough power to reach Aquitar?"

"I don't know," she answered, "I've never tried."

"Well, try now. We need Billy for this. Oh, and while you're at it, try and get in touch with Maranoi. The Quasar Sabres were able to open a portal between galaxies to get help when Maranoi was attacked, they might have powers that can help us. And we should call Justin. That kid was annoying, but he was smart. And we should get Trini too; she has a good mind and works well with Billy. And Kimberly and Zack would never forgive me if we leave them out."

"I can't call them all at once!" Hayley interrupted sharply.

"Sorry," Jason said.

Hayley was typing frantically. Symbols and diagrams were appearing in the various sections of the computer screen. Kira realised she was holding her breath and let it out slowly. She was just nervous. This wasn't a monster that could easily be defeated. They were fighting against the laws of physics, and that was a battle she wasn't prepared for.

"OK, the signal's sent," Hayley said. "Now we just have to wait and see if anyone responds."

A few seconds later, a face appeared on the screen. It was strange and bulgy and most definitely alien, but the sight of it had Jason grinning.

"Hi, I'm Jason, a former Red Ranger. I need to speak to Billy."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you think it's really true?" Hunter asked. Someone had wheeled a TV out into the street and it was playing Andros' message on a loop. They'd passed several celebratory parties since they'd emerged in Reefside forest and headed into town. Clearly other people thought it was true.

"I don't think the prince would be letting this chaos happen if it weren't," said Hayley, ducking what appeared to be someone's shirt being flung aside. They passed a group in various stages of undress who didn't seem to care much about public decency.

"What are you staring at?" Hunter asked, putting a hand over Blake's eyes.

"I'm not a kid," Blake said, pushing the hand away, "and they don't seem too bothered."

"Teenagers," muttered Elsa.

"No," said Hayley, "males." She took the handles of Zack's wheelchair and pushed him firmly away from the display.

"Can we be sure that Andros has got the right person?" Cam asked.

Hunter had been wondering the same thing. Andros and the rebels knew so little about the other world, if they knew at all. They couldn't possibly realise that another version of the prince had come through the portal.

"The only way we can find out is by going back," Hunter said.

"Back?" asked Hayley, "Are you crazy? We were lucky to get out of there alive."

"He may be right," Cam said, "If we can get to the world-crossing machine, we can find out if the other one got back to his world."

"And if Andros did get the wrong one?" asked Zack, "That means the prince could be hiding on that base waiting for someone stupid enough to go back."

"I never said you should come," Hunter said, "but I think someone should."

"It should be me," said Cam. "I can work the machine."

"No. It could be dangerous; I've had ninja training. I should go." Hunter said.

"I grew up at a ninja school," Cam said.

"You're not the only ninjas here," said Blake.

"Is it really conducive to our endeavours to be discussing this in such an exposed location?" asked Billy.

"No one's listening, Billy," said Zack.

There was a flash of white light and a tingling sensation through Hunter's body. Then he wasn't standing in the middle of Reefside anymore.

"On the contrary," came an amused woman's voice.

"Trini!" said Billy, clearly recognising her.

Hunter looked round the room, which was some sort of lab, but more glittery than anything in Mercer's base. On the subject of Mercer, he was standing over the other side of the room, Trent beside him, looking as healthy as ever. Hunter was surprised how relieved he was to see Trent alive.

"With the technology we have here," said the woman, Trini, "you don't have to face the danger of going to the base."

"You can teleport the machine here," said Billy.

"Exactly."


	35. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty Four**

The Dino lab seemed to be getting more crowded by the minute. Cam had been one of the first to arrived and he'd managed to route the controls to his teleportation system through the lab's computer, so now Rangers were arriving from all over the world. And from others.

Billy was at the world-crossing machine, talking with Cam, Hayley and Justin. Kira couldn't even understand half the words they were using, let alone follow the discussion. Kim was a lot more understandable. She'd given up on the science too and was now filling in the Dino Rangers on all the embarrassing things Dr O had got up to when he was their age. They'd better find a way to save him, because Kira really wanted to see Dr O's face when he found out what they now knew about him.

All the original Rangers had come to help, and the Ninja Storm Rangers had heard about things from Cam so now Blake, Hunter and Dustin had arrived. Jason was on the phone to TJ, who'd heard about things from Justin. From the looks of it, Jason was trying to persuade him he didn't need to come.

The flash of red light showed that he'd been unsuccessful.

Kira wondered where they'd find room if anyone else arrived.

Then she found out that they'd find room on her foot. Another load of lights heralded more arrivals and then the Astro Rangers were standing in the lab. Carlos might be cute, but Kira didn't want him on her toes.

"Sorry," he said, "we were struggling with the calculations to make sure we didn't end up teleporting through anyone."

"I didn't need to know that," said Kira.

Disturbing thoughts of having people materialise inside her were prevented by the machine whirring to life. A cheer rose from around the lab.

"That wasn't us!" Hayley yelled over the noise as the portal appeared in the archway.

The crowd of Rangers backed off to make room for whoever came through and Kira once more found her toes beneath someone's foot. Those nearest the front of the group were waiting in preparation for combat just in case it wasn't someone friendly.

Friendly or not, when Hunter stepped from the portal, he looked rather worried by the number of people staring at him and looking ready for a fight.

"Uh, hi. I just came to check that Andros had got the right person."

"He hasn't," the said prince, "but with this portal, he soon will have."

"Then you're..." Hunter didn't finish. He took a step back towards the portal.

"Yes. But if that portal stays open a little longer, I can put things right. I'll just go through, you can take me to Andros and everyone will be back where they should be."

"It might take more than that to get Andros to release Tommy," said the other world's Jason. "The man's been on a vendetta against Tommy for years."

"And you're not just saying that because you want to keep your boyfriend here?" asked Hunter.

"I think someone from this world should go through to help persuade Andros to let your Tommy go. Or to fight him out if necessary."

"Me," said Andros, "There's no one better qualified to change my mind than me."

"I'll come too," said Zhane.

"And me," offered TJ.

"We can't all go."

"Why not?"

The rational discussion quickly dissolved into everyone talking at once, not hearing properly what was said by anyone else and general confusion.

"Hey!" Blake yelled above the noise. "Whoever's going through, could we decide before the portal closes, 'cause I don't want to be stuck with two older brothers."

"Hey," complained both Hunter's simultaneously.

"I don't know. I think it could be kinda fun."

"Dustin!"

"I think we should all go," said Andros. "If seeing an army of Rangers from another universe doesn't convince me... um... him, nothing will."

"I'll go warn everyone my side to make room," said Hunter. "We should hurry. The execution's scheduled for this afternoon."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rebels had been given the task of securing the perimeter of the execution location. The Astro Megaship had landed in a wide valley that was now being set up for the show. A transparent force shield had been set up around the whole area and now hoards of people were gathered on the other side, pushing and shoving to get a good view.

Dustin walked round the edge of the shield with Tori and Chip, trying to come up with any way to prevent what was about to take place. It was fairly obvious they weren't going to convince Andros he was making a mistake and any attempt to rescue Tommy Oliver would result in them all being torn to pieces by those who'd turned up to see him die.

"Can't you and your friends to do a magical, summoning thing like they did to get us out of the palace?" Tori asked.

"Maybe. But that took ages to set up and one of us would have to get close enough to touch the not-prince, without touching any of the guards. And any of the guards holding onto him would also be transported."

"Maybe we could get control of the Astro Megaship's teleporters," suggested Dustin.

"OK, even if we could override the controls blocking them teleporting to anywhere but those little cells, there's the force shield to deal with. Nothing can teleport through this... woah!"

Tori jumped backwards as a flash of light proved her wrong. A small group of people were now standing right in front of them. Dustin, shocked though he was by their appearance, was even more surprised by who it was who was now right there.

"Hunter?"

Dustin closed the distance and planted a kiss on the guy's lips. He wouldn't have predicted this reaction from himself, but he'd been worrying like crazy and his body acted without asking his mind for permission.

"Ahem! That's my boyfriend you're kissing," a very familiar said as Hunter pulled away. Dustin looked at himself.

Hunter wiped his mouth, "So it's OK for you to make threesome jokes? It's not like I was cheating on you with... you."

There were more flashes of light, coming all around the edge of the valley. Dustin stared at the figures arriving. Some were too distant to see clearly, but a group a little way away included those who'd been working with Connor. A little further still, Dustin saw Mercer and Trent arriving.

"What's going on?" Tori asked.

"It's a case of mistaken identities," said Hunter.

"We're here to get Tommy out," said the other world's Dustin, "and turn Tommy in." He frowned slightly, "Did that make sense?"

"Enough," laughed Hunter, throwing an arm around his shoulder.

Dustin could see why Kira had been grinning at him and Hunter when they'd been in Mercer's base. Did he really look that gormless when he looked at his Hunter? And just when had he started thinking of Hunter as his?

"So, what happens now?"

"Andros takes your Dr O," said a Connor was presumably from the other world too, "and talks to your Andros. Hopefully, they'll do an exchange."

"If not, we kick butt," said Hunter.

"You might want to tell that to the large group of rebel soldiers with guns coming out of the Astro Megaship," said Chip.

Dustin turned to look. Sure enough, the entire rebel army appeared be coming to deal with those who had just teleported in.

"This is why you people need to let a guinea-pig make your plans," said the other world's Dustin to Connor.

Clearly Dustin was even thicker in the other universe than everyone in this one already thought he was.  



	36. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty Five**

"Andros, people are teleporting through the shield," called Zhane. "A lot of people."

"The princes forces? Mobilise our people. Have all those close enough form a line of defence around the ship until we can teleport the rest on board and take off."

"I think you should come see this," Zhane said, staring at the display screen. The group that had teleported closest to the ship had a few members that looked extremely familiar.

"This must be some illusion the prince has created," Andros said, staring at the image of himself and Zhane on the screen.

"Or Dustin was right about the other universe."

Andros didn't answer immediately. Much as Andros hated admitting he'd been wrong, it seemed he really was considering the possibility.

"I'll speak to them. But I want you to have the ship's weapons trained on them for when they reveal themselves to be creatures of the prince's creation."

He headed for the door, but Zhane was already getting to his feet.

"DECA, target the group nearest the ship." Andros looked back at him.

"I'm coming with you," Zhane said, as DECA confirmed the order. He wasn't about to leave Andros to deal with these people alone. Andros was not in a mood to talk to anyone who was likely to suggest not killing the prince.

They went to the teleportation bay rather than the hatch. They didn't want to risk opening up the ship to people who had enough power to penetrate their shield. About a minute after the arrivals had started, Zhane and Andros were teleporting down to a point just in front of the closest group.

Zhane found himself staring at an identical copy of Andros, a version of himself who wasn't missing an arm and showed no sign of the marks the prince's torture had left, and four complete strangers.

"Hi," said the other Andros, "we're from another universe. We've come to tell you that you've got the wrong person."

"Proof it," said Andros.

"We have your version of Tommy Oliver. He's willing to turn himself over to you in exchange for releasing ours."

"He's willing?" Zhane asked, all belief in this story rapidly fading at those words.

"He evil inside him was put there by Dark Spectre. Now that evil's gone. The real Tommy Oliver is not a bad man. In our world he's a great Ranger. Your Tommy Oliver will accept any punishment you think he deserves for what he's done, but it wasn't really his fault. Dark Spectre made him the prince. He's as much a victim as anyone else. Maybe more so."

Andros gave a short laugh that held no amusement, "You pretend to be me, but you act like you can understand his evil. You'd forgive him all this? Why?"

"Because of Karone."

For several moments, Zhane couldn't even think. That wasn't the answer he'd been expecting. He wasn't surprised that the prince would stood so low as to use Andros' sister as a weapon, but no one had heard of her in years. Clearly it was a bad topic to mention, because Andros went from stubborn to furious. At least he hadn't tried to kill his copy yet. That was a good thing, right?

"You did find her in this world?" said the other Andros.

"You won't use my sister's memory against me," Andros said, "and the prince will die today. It's more mercy than he deserves."

"Being a Ranger isn't about revenge," said one of the other, a pretty girl in a yellow dress, "It's about saving lives. You shouldn't kill anyone, not when there's any other choice."

"And what would you know about it?" demanded Andros.

"I'd know because I'm a Ranger," she answered, holding up her wrist to reveal an Astro morpher.

"Let's show them," said the other Zhane.

"Let's rocket!" said the other Andros, his hands moving in the familiar pattern. Zhane saw the other version of himself, holding a morpher that was in pristine condition as he went through the morphing sequence.

Then six Rangers stood in front of them.

"Believe us now?" asked the Red Ranger.

"Dark Spectre got the other Astro morphers when the prince killed the other Rangers. He could easily have given them to some other humans." Andros didn't sound any more convinced, though Zhane was. His morpher hadn't just been stolen; it had been destroyed. No one could ever use his morpher and survive, yet there was a Silver Ranger standing right in front of him.

"Maybe we should listen to them," Zhane said.

"I'm through listening to lies."

"But the guy in the cell, Dustin and now a group of Astro Rangers all have the same story," said Zhane.

"The prince plans well," Andros said, glaring at the other Red Ranger. "Of course his minions would agree with his story."

"Who are you calling a minion?" demanded the Pink Ranger.

"Power down," said the other Andros. "We're Rangers. We're good guys. We're on the same side as you."

"And I should believe that because?"

There was a bleeping from Andros' communicator. He raised his arm to listen as Cole made a report from the Megaship's bridge.

"We're getting a lot of energy readings. Things are approaching the planet."

"What kind of things?" asked Andros.

"Big things."

"What are you doing?" Andros demanded of the other versions.

"This isn't us." said the other Andros, reaching for his own wrist. "Jason, what's happening?"

"It looks like Dark Spectre's figured out Tommy's not on his team any more. I don't think he's happy about it." 


	37. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty Six**

Tommy wasn't sure how much time had passed since Dustin had left, but he'd have thought it plenty long enough for Dustin to tell Andros and Zhane what was really going on. He'd been sitting chained to the wall for so long that he'd come to the conclusion Dustin could have written a screenplay and gotten the story filmed by Newline by this point. And still no one had come to even tell Tommy what was being decided about him.

He knew Dustin wasn't exactly a poster boy for promptness, but this was ridiculous.

Andros could at least have given him a book to read or something.

Or maybe a clock.

He sat there and wondered how long it would be until Andros brutally killed him.

He'd had nothing to think about but impending doom and the fact that he probably should have sent one of the other Rangers through with the video. Of all the stupid ideas he'd ever had, this one was slowly creeping up the list to the top position just because he didn't usually have no much time to think about how stupid his ideas were. Usually he was too busy fighting monsters and almost getting killed to consider things.

The door opened.

Shane was standing there with a couple of guards that Tommy didn't recognise.

"You need to come with me right now," said Shane, crossing the room and starting to undo the chains.

"Why? If we don't hurry, are we going to miss the best seats for my execution?" Tommy asked. He really should have spent some of the time he'd been stuck here thinking up better jokes.

"Dark Specter's attacking," Shane answered.

"So, do you want me to help or are you going to turn me over to him?" Shane was still working on the chains. "I just want to know whether I should be trying to escape or not."

"If you want to live for more than five minutes, you'll help deal with the ten thousand or more monsters that are arriving."

Tommy supposed there was no better way to show he wasn't evil than by stopping the ruler of evil. He just wasn't quite sure how to go about doing that. Dark Specter had only been defeated in his world because Astronema had been draining his powers for months. Tommy somehow doubted the same had been happening here. So now he was stuck in the middle of a battle and he didn't even have his morpher. But, since the other option was to wait until the ship blew up or someone decided to execute him after all, he followed Shane from the cell.

A few minutes later, they were teleported outside of the ship and into a rocky valley. There was a shield making a dome over the base of the valley where the ship was parked, but the shield was failing in several places and monsters were creeping through. So far, the rebels were holding them back, but the army of evil looked enormous. This couldn't last for long.

Although there were rather more Rangers with the rebels than he'd been expecting to see.

"Tommy!" A Black Ranger ran up to join them. "I see you switched to the best colour around."

"Zack?" Tommy asked. Since the last time he'd seen this world's Zack, he'd been in a wheelchair, he guessed there was a little trans-dimensional help.

Zack put the Dino Thunder morpher into Tommy's hand.

"How?"

"It's a long story."

A laser blast cut through the shield and struck the ground near them, sending up an explosion of rocks and dirt.

"Tell me later," said Tommy, putting the bracelet back on his wrist, where it belonged.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can't just stand here and watch." Tommy was in what was left of the Command Centre with Jason, Zack and Hayley. The viewing globe was showing the battle, where more and more of Dark Specter's forces were attacking the shield and large numbers were already breaking through. Putties, Pyranatrons and Cogs were all being slaughtered, but there were more to come and some real monsters waiting behind the ranks of cannon fodder.

It seemed that Dark Specter had called upon everyone who'd ever served him. Tommy knew most of them hated him as much as the good guys did. These people had fawned over Dark Specter for centuries hoping to be named the heir to evil, and then a Power Ranger had stepped in and been given the position instead.

Dark Specter really didn't like being betrayed.

"If you go to help, everyone will try to kill you," Jason said. Tommy gave him a half-hearted glare, but didn't reply. Jason was right.

"A real hero wouldn't care about being killed," said Zack. He'd been shooting insults in Tommy's direction ever since he'd been told he couldn't shoot him with anything more lethal.

"Oh shut up," said Hayley. "If you're such a hero, go commit suicide yourself."

"There's no wheelchair access on the battlefield," Zack responded somewhat sarcastically.

"There's got to be some way we could help them from here," said Jason.

"Maybe there was once, but not since _someone _tore this place to pieces," Zack smiled at Tommy.

"That was years ago. Trini and Kim have been operating out of this place for ages," Jason responded.

"Bet that burns you that they were using our old sanctuary against you."

"Are you kidding? I was the one who kept teleporting them pizza when their supplies ran out."

There was a short silence then Zack asked, "Really?"

"Yes. I figured out how to penetrate their shields ages ago."

"When?" asked Tommy. This was quite surprising to him. He knew that Jason had been concealing the fact that Kira and probably some of the other girls were sending information to Andros, but he hadn't even guessed that Jason had been in contact with Trini and Kim. Tommy had known they were holed up in the Command Centre and just ignored them so long as they weren't interfering with his taking over of the galaxy.

Now Tommy was wondering how much else Jason had done to advance the rebel cause without him even realising it.

"I think Dark Specter's appearing," said Hayley.

The bickering group turned their attention back to the viewing globe. Sure enough, the lava-like figure of Dark Specter appeared in the air above the valley.

"Rebels, give up. Surrender to me and you will live. If you choose to fight, you will be defeated. All you will have to hope for is a merciful death. And I do not show mercy."

"Why do the bad guys always offer to let the good guys live?" wondered Hayley. "Why doesn't he just bomb the planet from orbit?"

"He doesn't want to make them matres," Tommy answered, not even having to think about it. "He wants to show the universe the rebels beaten and broken because that will crush any thoughts of resistence elsewhere. If people see Andros, the great Red Ranger, giving up, they'll lose hope themselves." He saw the others staring at him.

"I was evil for most of a decade," he said defensively, "I know how the villains think!" 


	38. Chapter 37

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

Dustin was at one of the larger cracks in the shield. Those with Ranger powers were acting as the first line, the rest of the rebels waiting behind to shoot anything they had a clear shot at. Hunter wondered what had happened to those who'd come to watch the show. They'd all fled when Dark Specter had shown up. He just hoped that the monsters were more concerned with those inside the shield than chasing down the defenceless hoards outside it.

Hunter was doing his best to keep close to Dustin, though the hoards of robot things pushing through the crack were doing their best to prevent this. Dustin was fighting what appeared to be a giant toad. He seemed to be holding his own, but that didn't stop Hunter worrying. He knew he barely knew Dustin, but he'd really, really like to opportunity to develop a relationship like the one he saw between their other world versions.

Dustin jumped high enough to kick the toad in the head. He followed up with a strike from his lion hammer and the creature fell with a messy squelch.

Dustin punched the air excitedly.

The air punched back.

A bright burst of energy came from somewhere up above and struck Dustin. It was like a bolt of lightning that had hit him, only this wasn't gone in a flash. It stayed on him.

Dustin shook under it. His powers flickered off for a moment and Hunter saw the expression of pain on Dustin's face.

"Dustin!"

Hunter ran past the crowd of monsters and shoved Dustin out of the way of the energy beam. As he hit the ground, Hunter felt his whole body tingling slightly, but there was no real pain. At least not for him. Dustin had landed beneath him, his Ranger suit had vanished and he moaned slightly, eyes closed.

"Dustin, are you alright?"

"No," Dustin said, opening his eyes and looking up at Hunter, "I need immediate mouth-to-mouth."

"Guys! Not the time!" yelled Shane as Hunter kissed Dustin.

"He's probably right," said Hunter, climbing off Dustin and helping him to his feet. "If we live through this, I promise I'll give you a thorough physical."

"Corny line," criticized Dustin.

"What? And yours wasn't?"

"Guys!" Shane yelled again, fighting off a hoard of fish monster things that had followed the robots.

"Right," said Hunter. "Do your thing."

"Ninja Storm: Ranger Form!"

There was a short silence. Hunter looked at Dustin, who was distinctly un-Rangered.

"This can't be good," Dustin muttered.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tommy was very glad to be able to work off some of the frustration that had built up during his time in the cell. He punch and kicked with enormous satisfaction, watching his enemies disintegrate or melt into water or, in the case of one slimy monster, explode in a hugely gross way that made him want to bring up everything in his stomach.

He tackled a group of putties, finding it strange that there'd been times when he'd once struggled against these creatures. Admitted, not many times, but now he took on about a dozen at once and watched them break into pieces within the first minute of battle.

It was also good to have some of the old gang around. Jason and Zack were kicking ass beside him. He guessed Zack was enjoying himself, judging by the dance moves that interspersed the kicks. Tommy was quite grateful for the fact that these guys hadn't lost their powers completely when they'd handed over to Adam and Rocky. Tommy just wished that Adam and Rocky were also here.

He wondered if there would be time to send someone back to their world to summon everyone else and get them to help.

The crack they were defending opened a little wider, allowing more monsters to pour through. Putties were one thing, but monsters usually required a whole Ranger team to defeat. And there were about twenty of them bearing down on the three of them. Even with the laser fire coming from the rebels behind them, this was going to be tough.

A tentacle wrapped around Tommy's torso, pinning his arms and lifting him from the ground.

Maybe tough was an understatement.

"Guys, a little help here," he called.

But Zack was fighting a lizard thing and Jason was struggling against two flying creatures that looked part insect and kept shooting darts at him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is so unfair," said Kim, punching a putty on the Z. "How come you have Ranger powers and I don't?"

"Because you handed over your power coin," said Trini, kicking another one, "and I got zapped by a sword."

"I've got to admit," said Kim, "this is kind of fun."

"Yeah," Trini hit a red creature that was apparently called a kel-something, "fighting for our lives," she kicked a pyranatron, "constantly risking death," she disintegrated another putty, "knowing that if we fail a whole universe will suffer for it," she turned to Kim, "it is sort of fun. I don't know why I ever gave this up."

Something hit her in the chest and sent her flying.

"Oh, that was why," she said.

Kim punched another one of the miscellaneous creatures. There seemed no end of the things. Putties, pyranatrons and a load of things Kim didn't recognise were pouring through the cracks. The Rangers and the rebels were holding their own, but there were so many monsters. As she battered them into disintegrating, Kim wondered why it had never occurred to any of the bad guys to just send all their creatures at once.

It wasn't going to be long before the shield gave way completely. The only reason they weren't completely overrun was because the monsters were having to force through the holes in the defences.

Then they still had to deal with Dark Specter.

Suddenly, something like a burst of lightning hit Trini. Only the lightning didn't disappear. Trini's body shook at the energy surged through it. Then her morph shattered, the bolt of energy vanishing the same moment.

"Trini, are you alright?"

"I think so. But I'm not sure my powers are."

"This can't be good," said Kim, watching Trini fail to morph.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zhane watched as another Ranger had their powers sucked away. Andros had teleported him back to the ship as soon as the attack had started. Now he got to sit uselessly on the bridge while everyone else fought.

He knew that coming back here was the only sensible thing for him to have done. He was already feeling exhausted from just walking to the teleportation bay and back. He wouldn't last five minutes in a fight, not even with one of those grey, clay things. It was better for everyone that he stayed out of the way where he wasn't going to need protecting.

Still, he glared at the screen with feelings of enormous resentment, remembering what it had been like to be the one out there fighting the monsters. He could even do anything strategic, because the only strategy at the moment was to stop those creatures before they reached the ship.

And Dark Specter was in orbit, watching the battle and using his abilities to drain the Ragners of theirs. He supposed it could be worse. At least those drained weren't left utterly crippled like he had been.

He stood up.

"Teleport the other Silver Astro Ranger on board," Zhane said to the other guy who'd been left to man the bridge.

"Why?" he asked.

"I've got a plan."

Zhane hurried to the best of his ability, using the walk back to his quarters to try and remember where he'd put his morpher. 


	39. Chapter 38

**Chapter Thirty Eight**

"I've got to do something," Tommy muttered.

"No," Jason said. "You'll just get yourself killed." But he knew from the look on Tommy's face that it was useless. He could no more stop Tommy now than he could have stopped him all those years ago when he handed himself over to Lord Zedd to save the Earth. Tommy was feeling the guilt of all he'd done while under evil control and now he wanted to make things right.

"They're losing," Tommy said, watching the viewing globe, where yet another Ranger had their powers sucked out of them by Dark Specter.

"I'm coming with you," said Jason.

"No. You're not a Ranger anymore."

"I can still fight."

"No, Jase. You should stay here where it's safe." There was a look in Tommy's eyes that was almost pleading.

"Then stay with me." It was unfair of Jason to ask, but right now there didn't seem to be much fairness in the universe. He just saw the person he'd gone through all manner of hell for, preparing to leave him once more.

He could tell Tommy was tempted. He could almost see the thoughts going through his head as he considered a life in another world, the two of them safe forever for all time. He wanted it so badly that he'd been willing to lie to get it, that a part of him had been prepared to let another version of himself die. But the Black Gem had driven all trace of the old spell from him. And now the temptation lasted barely more than a second.

"I have to help them," Tommy said. "The Green Ranger started all this; the Green Ranger will finish it."

And he stood in front of Jason, the man he'd fallen in love with. Jason could ask him to stay, but he knew that he'd rather know that it was this man whom he loved not someone who merely pretended to be a hero.

Jason closed the distance between them and kissed Tommy on the lips. He tried to pour everything he was feeling into that gesture. He wanted Tommy to know the pride Jason felt for him, the pain and fear at the mere thought of losing him, and the love that had brought them both to this point. Jason wasn't going to say goodbye, because that felt like admitting defeat. But he could offer this one moment as a means of remembrence, just in case one of them didn't return.

"I love you, Jase," Tommy said. He looked into Jason's eyes, the moisture in them a reflection of the tears Jason didn't let fall.

"I love you, too."

Tommy looked across to Hayley. "Do it." And she activated the teleportation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zhane almost panicked when he was teleported from the battle into a tiny room, but when the door was opened it was definitely someone human who stood there. Zhane recognised the logo of the Astro Megaship on the wall behind him.

"What's going on?" Zhane asked.

"One of our people has a plan," said the man, and he set off. They walked quickly, just a fraction of a pace below a run. No one mentioned the urgency. Outside, the Rangers were fighting, possibly even dying. They couldn't hold out against the armada of monsters forever.

Changes had been made to the ship, but it was still amazingly familiar. So much was as it had been on their Astro Megaship. Zhane found himself taken to the room that had been his in his universe.

Sure enough, the figure he saw was very familiar. There had been a great deal of time to acquaint them with all that had happened in this world, but Zhane had gathered that the morphing had gone wrong for his other self. Now he looked at a figure so gaunt and thin, tiredness so obvious it almost seemed to radiate him. And there was the empty sleeve, pinned up above where his forearm had been.

"You've got a plan?" asked Zhane.

His other self nodded and held out a morpher. Zhane took it. It looked like his own, but there were black marks on it like it had been scorched.

"I don't understand," he said.

"My powers were broken by the prince. Morphing is... was incredibly painful and did huge damage to my body when I tried it. But Dark Specter is drawing power from the Rangers. He exists partly inside the morphing grid. If he were to absorb my damaged powers, it would be even worse for him."

"Would it kill him?" Zhane asked. If they could stop Dark Specter, it would weaken the other side and probably scare some of the other leaders of evil into retreating.

"Probably not, but it could weaken him enough to for someone else to stand a chance."

Zhane looked at his other self and knew what was being asked of him. He might become like this man, crippled and useless, because of a slim chance of fighting back. He saw the frailness and wondered if he could really life like that.

Then the ship shook. All the weapons fire going on outside must have finally caught the ship somewhere sensitive. Whether he could live with things afterwards, he'd have to find out, because it was clear no one was going to live very long if he didn't try something.

"Let's rocket!"

The gesture was enough. Before he'd even started pressing the buttons to activate his morph, sparks were shooting from the morpher, burying themselves in his arm. They burned so much that it felt like more than just his flesh hurting. The pain went right through his skin into his soul.

He pressed the buttons, his fingers shaking from the strain already flowing into his body. It was a struggle not to hit the wrong sequence.

Then he finished.

The pain he'd felt before was nothing. Now absolute agony surged into his body as the powers rose up and silver formed around him. He gasped, barely able to breathe, barely to think.

Then it was over. He stood there as the Silver Ranger.

His body still tingled with the memory of pain, but the burning process had stopped.

"Thank you," said the other Zhane. There were tears in his eyes as he watched another suffer through what he must have gone through over and over.

"Now we just have to get Dark Specter to take them," said Zhane.


	40. Chapter 39

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

Tommy managed to get away from yet another gross, slimy thing. At least he didn't have to launder his Ranger outfit. He smacked the thing in what passed for a chest with his brachio staff. With absolutely perfect timing, one of the rebels hit the monster at the same point and the creature exploded in a mass of green goo. Now Tommy was doubly grateful for the self-cleaning outfit and also pleased that Andros had a firing range on the Megaship.

There were two flashes of teleportation and then Tommy found himself looking at... himself.

"You!" Tommy started towards the man.

"Wait, I'm here to help," said the prince. Jason was already stepping between the two Tommys to protect his lover in case that didn't work.

"How about dropping dead?"

"That's quite likely to happen. It's morphin' time! Dragonzord!" He pulled out the morpher and stood before Tommy as the Green Ranger.

"If I survive, I'll apologise properly."

"What are you going to do?" Tommy asked, recognising in this man the familiar need to proof himself, the need to earn redemtion.

"Dark Specter came here because of me."

"You don't stand a chance against Dark Specter," Tommy said. He'd put a lot of research into the Ranger histories and knew that Dark Specter had only been defeated in his world because Karone had been draining his powers for months. Unless he suffered a severe power loss in the next few minutes, he was going to win any fight with the Green Ranger.

Another bolt of energy came down from overhead, piercing the shield and striking a Ranger. Tommy hadn't been counting how many of these things there had been, but he'd seen one strip the Red Mystic Ranger of his powers and another take away Trini's.

He rushed over, trying to come up with some way to block this drain, but then he saw the fluctuations in the energy. The line of power was shooting up from Zhane to Dark Specter in orbit, but it wasn't a bright lightning bolt. This line of power was flickering slightly and, despite the fact that Dark Specter should have been high enough to be in near vacuum, Tommy heard the scream of rage and pain coming from above.

Zhane's powers gave out and the line of energy vanished. Tommy was able to catch Zhane before he hit the ground, but the Silver Ranger was clearly weak and in pain.

"Man do I hate me right now," Zhane muttered.

"What just happened?" asked Tommy.

"Dark Specter's just absorbed this world's Silver Ranger's screwed up powers."

"That's just what I need." Green Ranger was still there and he'd heard what Zhane had said.

"Good luck, Tommy," said Jason.

"Yeah, good luck," Tommy said. He would need to have a long talk with someone, or several someones, about what had just happened before he could figure out what was going on, but the prince seemed to genuinely want to help. Tommy knew how it had been for him recovering from being evil and was willing to say a few kind words on the off-chance that his other self was going through what he had. Plus, they needed all the luck they could get.

The Green Ranger nodded to each of them, then leapt into the air. Tommy had long ago learned to accept physical impossibilities and he watched his alternate self jumping to battle with Dark Specter.

"He can take care of himself," Tommy said to Jason, who was still standing, staring up at the sky despite the obvious chaos around him. He wasn't even armed! Tommy hurried over to a fallen rebel and took the laser that was lying in the dirt beside him. He'd worry later about the ethical implications of stealing from the dead, but for now they had to hold their own against the monsters until they knew whether the Green Ranger could win.

Tommy pressed the gun into Jason's hands.

"We've got work to do," he said, "Power Ranger."

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Fires. Explosions. Screaming.

This was worse than any battle he'd ever seen.

Jason had seen far too many battles, both as Red Ranger and as Gold. But he'd never seen anything as horrific as this, even in his nightmares. He watched as rebels fell. He'd been fortunate never to lose a comrade in all his time as a Ranger, but these people didn't have powers and armour to protect them. They went into battle against monsters with only guns to help them.

And they fell.

Jason didn't dare look at the faces in case he saw some he recognised from his world. He just kept fighting. He stood between the monsters and the injured so that the rebels had a chance to teleport back to the Megaship. If they lost this battle, none of them would survive, but Jason did what he could to help those who were hurt, on the slim chance that a few might live who otherwise wouldn't have.

He wondered whether anyone here would be able to teleport to the Command Centre. The Megaship was grounded and being subject to frequent hits, some deliberate, some just the result of all the weapons' fire that was going on. Jason wasn't sure if the ship would be able to get off the ground, let alone get past Dark Specter and whoever else might be in orbit above the planet. If people teleported to Earth, they might stand a chance of surviving a little longer.

Jason wasn't sure when he'd stopped thinking about winning this battle. Now, he saw the destruction around him and could only think about losing it. No matter how many monsters they stopped, more were coming. Jason could see Lord Zedd on the other side of the shield, turning rocks and rubble into more creatures for them to fight.

And there was Divatox, sending hoards of pyranatrons through the shield. And there was Scorpina, laughing as she saw the death of her enemies. And there was Rito, managing to avoid tripping over his own feet and successfully knocking down a young rebel.

Jason saw the kid fall, dead before he hit the ground, and realised he knew who he was. He'd only met the kid once in his world, but that one meeting was enough to make this death hurt far more than all the nameless strangers. So young. So stupidly ahead of time. Jason saw the rookie lying motionless in the dirt. Cole. 


	41. Chapter 40

**Chapter Forty**

Andros was forced to accept now that there were other Rangers, because they were fighting along side his army. He wasn't looking forward to hearing Zhane's I-told-you-so speech when this was over. For now, he was working to ensure there was a later.

There had been so many minor skirmishes over the past few years, so many battles to free slaves or prevent the prince building new weapons. But none compared to this. There was a feeling in the air. Both sides knew that this was it. The course of the future was to be decided by this one fight and no one was holding back. Andros had his spiral sabre out and was cutting through the enemy forces.

The shield had long ago collapsed and now the monsters were trying to reach the Megaship. DECA or someone on the bridge was doing a good job with the ship's lasers and managing to keep the creatures back. But Andros knew it would only take one to get to the ship with the powerful explosives they were carrying. With the ship gone, they would be pinned down and their most powerful weapons destroyed.

Andros saw a figure amoung evil's forces. Astronema. She was aiming her weapon at one of the rebels, a young woman whose name Andros couldn't even remember. But the sight of it was still enough to cause a surge of rage inside Andros. The woman wasn't a Ranger. She was barely more than a girl, joined up with this cause because of thoughts of glory or desire for revenge for lost friends. Andros didn't know. All he knew was that she had come here because, like so many others, she believed in Andros and believed he could give them victory. He couldn't just watch her die like this.

Andros leapt over the quantrons to reach Astronema. One blow from the spiral sabre sent her sprawling before she had a chance to fire, her wrath staff coming from her grasp to land a little out of reach. Andros brought her weapon up to finish her off and rid the universe of her evil forever.

He brought it downwards, but his sabre clashed against another weapon. Andros blinked, momentarily stopped by his confusion as he saw the Lunar Lance above Astronema. The Black Ranger had prevented the killing blow.

His confusion hadn't ended, but Andros acted anyway. He brought his elbow into the Black Ranger's stomach. He followed up with a kick to the legs and then swung his sabre round to strike the other Ranger's stomach.

"If you get between me and my enemies, you're as evil as they are," Andros said. There were thousands upon thousands of monsters out there, but this man had chosen to challenge him. Maybe Zhane hadn't been completely right after all.

"You can't kill her," the Black Ranger said.

"She's evil."

"She's your sister."

"What?" Andros said, at the same moment as Astronema.

"She's Karone," said the Black Ranger. He turned to Astronema. "You were kidnapped as a child. The locket you carry, the boy whose picture is in it is Andros."

"You're crazy," said Andros.

"Look at her locket! It's exactly the same as yours."

Andros looked and saw the necklace the Black Ranger was pointing to. It hung round Astronema's neck, the exact size and design as the one Andros always wore under his uniform. He'd not shown it to anyone. There was no way Astronema could have copied it. Was it possible? Karone, the sister he'd thought lost forever, was right in front of him?

Still not believing it, Andros took a step forward, hoping to see the locket clearer. He expected to see that it wasn't the same after all, just similar. He expected to see proof that this man was wrong, because there was no way his little sister could be this evil fiend.

"This is a trick," said Astronema. She'd retrieved her staff by this point, and was aiming it at Andros. But she was hesitating.

"In my world," the Black Ranger said to her, "you stopped being Astronema and became Karone again. You went on to become a Pink Ranger."

"That's not possible," Astronema said, but Andros could see the doubt in her eyes.

"You don't want to be evil."

A weapon of some sort went off nearby causing an explosion that knocked them all off their feet.

"Maybe this isn't the best time for a family reunion."

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Tommy was still fighting. He knew that his other self was somewhere above him, fighting Dark Specter for the future of an entire universe. It was hard to focus on the things he was fighting when he knew it was largely insignificant. What really mattered was happening way above his head and he had no way to know who was winning.

At the same time, Tommy was worrying about everyone else. He was trying to keep an eye on this world's Jason, who was undoubtedly even more distracted than he was. But the tide of battle was not at all coopperative and the two kept getting separated.

An unexpected blow caught Tommy in the stomach.

He turned to see someone he'd previously only noticed from the corner of his eye. He'd seen this guy and then not really paid attention because he'd seen the rebel uniform. He hadn't predicted an attack by someone he thought he was fighting with, but he supposed he probably should have done.

"I'm on your side," Tommy said.

"You can't fool me. I saw you morph. I know you're the prince."

A putty charged at them. Tommy punched the Z without even paying attention.

"The explanation would take too damn long," said Tommy. He tripped another putty and then stepped on its back, forcing the Z into the ground so it disintegrated that way. "Can't you just see I'm trying to help you and accept that?"

"I watched you kill my parents. I saw you murder my little sister with your bare hands. She was seven years old!" This guy's hate made him oblivious to everything else. He didn't care about the battle and the fact that his power could make a difference in the number of lives lost today. He didn't care that the man he was aiming his gun at wasn't making a move to attack in return.

Tommy was calculating the odds of him being able to get the gun away from this guy before a shot was fired. He was wondering how much protection his armour would give at this close range. And he was wondering if there was any way out of this that wouldn't involve this guy getting hurt. Even if Tommy managed to disarm him quickly and safely, the man would be left in the middle of a war zone with no weapon. That was almost as bad as hurting him himself.

"Can we finish this after we've dealt with the monsters?" Tommy asked.

Some bird thing came at them. The rebel was momentarily distracted, but Tommy had to choose between stopping the monster or getting the gun, which, hopefully, wouldn't even penetrate Ranger armour. He chose to hit the bird creature, sending it away squawking and singed. The act didn't seem to have convinced the guy at all.

"I am not your enemy. I may look like him, but I'm not."

"I've been dreaming of this for a long time," said the rebel. Tommy waited. Judging by the firepower he'd witnessed from the weapons of the other rebels, this gun would give him a bruise to remember, but his armour would prevent it doing any serious damage.

Someone else was less confident.

Another figure stepped between them, fingers grasping at the man's wrist to try and force the gun from him. Tommy saw everything happen so clearly, saw what was about to happen, simply couldn't act in time.

It was almost certainly an accident.

The laser went off.

Tommy's defender let go of the rebel and staggered backwards a step. Then he fell, a look of pain and surprise on his face. The rebel stared at fallen the black man, with a look of shock and horror as he took in the burned flesh where the laser had struck him.

Tommy just stared. No thoughts were able to penetrate his mind as he saw Zack lying there, his side a mass of blood already cauterised where the laser had hit him. An ally through so many battles, a friend for so many years, he'd stepped in to try and protect Tommy. Tommy hated him for that right now as he crouched at Zack's side and tried to feel for a pulse.


	42. Chapter 41

**Chapter Forty One**

Jason was fighting for his life. He focused on the enemies all around him because he didn't dare think of the other fight that was going on above him. He fired at the monsters until his laser ran out of power, then he punched and kicked. It was almost satisfying.

He'd spent far too long in the palace, watching death and suffering, almost completely helpless. He'd done what he could to ease the suffering of Tommy's victims, but it had never been enough. Now he could really make a stand against the evil. People thought he'd sold out, but he hadn't. Now he could show it. If he could kill every one of these creatures, he would.

An explosion sent him flying. He hit the ground hard. The impact knocked the breath out of him, but he was aware enough to see that he'd landed in the midst of a load of monsters. He rolled out of the way of a sword and got to his feet, sore but still ready to fight. He had to survive this, because there was just a chance that Tommy would. He had to stay alive so he could see Tommy again.

Besides, he thought, recognising the monster he faced, he owed Goldar a whole lifetime of pain.

"You really think you can defeat me?" Goldar asked.

"I think," Jason said.

They traded a few blows and Jason began to reassess his chances. Goldar was as strong as he'd ever been, and Jason didn't have any Ranger powers to help him.

Jason didn't get to see who would win.

Overhead, there were explosions like the biggest fireworks display ever created. There was a moment of distraction, then some of the monsters started running, even before a voice called out across the battlefield: "Dark Specter is dead!"

There were cheers from the rebels.

They tore through those monsters which remained. Jason wasn't sure if the monsters were disheartened by the news, or if Dark Specter had been giving them strength somehow. Either way, they fell so quickly now. True, some had fled, but the greatest evil forces had been destroyed today.

Jason looked across the valley, scorched by weapons' fire and littered with the fallen of both sides.

Tommy.

Where was Tommy?

He'd won. He'd defeated Dark Specter. So where was he? He should be coming to find Jason. Surely Tommy would be just as worried as he was. He'd come looking. But no one seemed too interested in Jason.

"Tommy!" Jason yelled. No one answered, but he heard plenty of other shouts. The rebels were wandering around in confusion, many calling for their own friends and loved ones. There were screams of hurt and rage as some found the ones they sought and wished they hadn't.

After the loud explosions and blaster fire of the battle, the valley seemed quiet. But that just made every painful sound echo in Jason's ears. He heard the grief that surrounded him and hoped he wasn't about to share it.

Where was Tommy?

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Maddy's leg was like white hot fire.

She'd had her powers sucked out of her a while ago and been fighting on unprotected since then. She'd still had her magic, but that hadn't stopped her getting caught by the rubble as someone blasted a hole in the hillside. She tried to pry the boulder off her left leg, but the movement to even attempt that caused the agony to surge through her, the pain so strong she couldn't even think. Instead, she just gasped, tears filling her eyes, water trickling down her cheeks.

Water. That was the answer.

She reached for her wand and aimed it at the boulder. A stream of water shot from it, striking the huge rock and rolling it from her leg. She screamed as the movement tore even more at the wound and further waves of agony rose in her flesh. The flow of water stopped as she tried to do anything but think of how much this hurt.

She looked at her leg. A huge gash was torn through skin and muscle. Oh god! Was that bone?

The sight of her own injury was almost enough to make her vomit, but she fought down the urge. They had to have medical aid on the ship and this wasn't life-threatening. It hurt so badly that she almost wanted to gnaw her leg off to stop the pain, but she knew she'd live.

She looked down the slope she was lying on and saw others lying on the ground. But they weren't moving like she was. Figures were walking between the still forms, some hunting panicked, others working methodically. There were some walking between those who might still be alive, but there were so many fallen figures that Maddy guessed she was low down on the priorities list.

She looked across the valley and wondered who those bodies were. She tried to fight down her fears. She longed to be like some of those others, running between the bodies, searching for a familiar face and hoping never to see it. She'd spent so long hunting for Vida, she didn't dare consider that she might be lost now.

"Maddy! Madison!" She heard a voice calling over the other sounds and recognised it.

"Chip!" she yelled.

"Oh thank god!" Chip ran up to her. Apart from a slight graze on his cheek, he seemed perfectly fine. A long way from his usual, cheerful self, but intact and alive. Maddy returned the hug gratefully as Chip flung his arms around her.

"When we couldn't find you, we were afraid..." He didn't need to finish. Maddy knew exactly what he'd been afraid of. She saw the tears in his eyes and the streaks down his face.

Maddy was so overwhelmed with delight that she wasn't alone, that it took her several long moments to realise that his tears hadn't stopped. Even his delight at seeing her wasn't restoring the happy Chip she was so used to. She saw the pain in his expression and knew what it must mean, though the thought of it was so horrifying that she wanted to shy away.

"Who?" Maddy asked, her voice trembling with fear. She thought of her friends, of her sister. Surrounded by the wreckage of broken lives, it was too easy to imagine the possible answers.

Chip didn't say anything at first. He just looked away, unable to meet her gaze as his shoulders shook. His reluctance just proved that whoever was gone was someone important to her. Maddy needed to know. She wanted to stay forever in this ignorance, where she could pretend that any or all of them were alive, but the uncertainty was a pain worse than that in her leg. She had to know.

"Chip, who is it? Who's dead?" 


	43. Chapter 42

**Chapter Forty Two**

The bodies were being stacked up. People were lying them neatly, marking them as identified or not. Those that were recognised were marked on pads and logged with DECA. Everything was getting organised. The rebels were keeping busy to try and stave off the horror and what they'd been through.

Apart from those already grieving.

Hunter wandered through the bodies. He'd looked at a list of the dead, but it had barely begun. So now he looked at those so far unknown. Blank, empty faces lay in the endless sleep. Hunter saw them all, but he didn't feel grief for them. He just felt emptiness. It was as though some part of him decided that the hurt was too much, it had just shut down all emotions. So he walked along the ordered rows and felt hollow.

"Hunter!"

Hunter turned and was met by Dustin, who pulled him into a frantic kiss. There was so much need in it, a desperate desire to have a taste of life after witnessing so much death.

At last, Hunter felt something. But after the overwhelming wave of delight and relief, came the fear. He pulled away, slightly breathless.

"Wait. Which Dustin are you?"

"We met at Mercer's pla..." Dustin didn't even get to finish the word. Hunter kissed him again with bruising intensity. There were no words for how he felt. The sickening revulsion lay like a lead weight in his stomach at the sight of so much carnage. But the brilliant joy at seeing Dustin alive and well shone like a beacon that nearly drowned out the fear he still felt.

"Have you seen Blake?" Hunter asked when the kiss eventually ended.

"No," Dustin answered. Then he said, "Sorry."

Hunter took little comfort in that useless apology. It wasn't Dustin's fault. Hunter turned back to the rows of corpses, hoping with every fibre of his being that he wouldn't see his brother's face among them. His mind was racing with possibilities of what might have happened. And there was a little voice at the back of his thoughts murmuring that maybe he'd been a little too concerned about Dustin when he should have been watching his brother's back.

But still Hunter clung to Dustin's hand, despite the guilty whisper that maybe, if it weren't for him, Hunter would know where Blake was.

"Dustin!" A guy ran up to them.

"Shane, what is it?"

"It's Tori."

Dustin set off at a run after Shane. Hunter followed. He might not have found Blake yet, but he wasn't about to lose sight of Dustin so soon. He found a group of rebels along with Vida and her friends. A brunette girl was having a gaping wound in her leg inexpertly bound by one of the others. Hunter guessed that the professional doctors were fully occupied by the life and death cases. She was sobbing uncontrollably, but Hunter guessed it wasn't from the pain.

Within the group was someone who no doctor could help. There was a blond girl being loaded onto a stretcher to be carried over to the other bodies. Dustin stared at her in pale-faced horror. Hunter wished for anything he could say that would be of comfort, but he settled for placing a hand on his shoulder.

Vida left her place beside the sobbing girl and walked to Hunter.

"Hi," she said. "Glad you're OK."

"You too." It was kind of awkward. They'd never really been friends, despite their time together with Mercer, but Hunter was grateful she was still alive. She'd been an amazingly tough fighter and it would be terrible to think of her gone.

"Your brother?" Vida asked.

"I don't know," Hunter answered.

"No. I mean, is that your brother?" She nodded to a point behind Hunter and he turned to look. Blake! Alive. Clutching at an arm that was soaked in crimson, but alive.

Hunter left Dustin briefly to rush over to Blake, needing to be certain this wasn't just his hopes conjuring the image of his brother. He grasped at Blake's arm, afraid to hug in case of hurting him. There were no words. No words were needed. They just smiled at each other, knowing that both felt the same way.

For a moment, Hunter felt a stab of guilt. He shouldn't be feeling so happy, not when the group behind him were suffering such grief.

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Tommy didn't dare demorph. The battle was well over, but he was surrounded by people who would kill him without hesitating if they saw his face. So he wandered the battlefield, locating those from his world. He found Trini and Kim. Trini had been hurt, her hair matted with blood from a head injury. Kim was talking to her, making sure to keep her conscious while Trini was severely zoned out.

Tommy really wanted to just gather his Rangers together and get out of here before anyone else decided to kill him. But he had to wait. Zack had been taken onto the ship by medical crew and Tommy wasn't going anywhere without him. He kept seeing Zack lying there, half his torso a mass of scorched flesh. Tommy just wished he could charge the Megaship and make certain the doctors were doing everything humanly possible to save him.

He found the other Dino Thunder Rangers and sent Kira and Ethan to see if they could get onto the ship and find out what was happening with Zack.

He saw Jason and recognised him as this world's version. It was getting easier to tell those two apart now. Jason wasn't breaking down or crying or anything, he was just staring blankly around him. The rebels were currently ignoring him, but Tommy still thought the guy ought to pay more attention to the people around him. After all, Jason was considered a sell-out by most and these were the people most fanatically about destroying the prince and all those connected to him.

"Jase?" Tommy asked. "I suppose it would stupid to ask if you're OK?"

"I can't find my Tommy."

Tommy didn't know what to say. He'd been thinking much the same thing. There was bound to be uproar the moment any of the rebels saw this world's Tommy. It seemed that hardly any of them knew about the other world. Several had come to talk to Tommy's group, asking how they'd managed to activate powers. There were so many of the rebels here, gathered together for what they thought would be their final victory, and there had been no opportunity to tell them what had happened recently. If any one of them saw the prince, they would assume he was still an enemy.

But there had been nothing. No one had brought him in to the others, either dead or alive. Tommy could think of several options, none of them pleasant. One possibility was that the prince was still partly evil and had taken this opportunity to escape. Another was that he'd been completely destroyed in the fight with Dark Specter. A third was that one of the rebels had found him but wanted to take personal revenge.

Tommy didn't feel like mentioning any of these possibilities to Jason. No doubt he'd already thought of them himself along with other, even more horrible ones.

Tommy just led Jason over to where his people were gathered. It didn't matter that Jason wasn't from their world. After everything that had happened to him, Jason needed friends to comfort him, and they weren't going to find any from this universe.

Tommy looked across the battlefield and saw Andros organising a group of rebels. Tommy now knew the whole story; his Jason had filled him in after Dark Specter was defeated. Someone needed to explain things to Andros. Tommy just hoped the Astro Ranger was in more of a mood to listen than he had been before the battle.


	44. Chapter 43

**Chapter Forty Three**

"I suppose you want an apology," said Andros when he saw Tommy approach.

"That would be nice, but I'm more concerned about what you intend to do with the other version of me."

Andros had some sort of data pad in his hand. Tommy could see a list of names with various marks beside them. He was confirming those alive or injured, as well as dead. Andros continued to stare at the pad, not looking up as he gave his answer.

"He was sentenced to death for his crimes. If he survived Dark Specter, the execution will take place as planned."

"But he just saved you and everyone else here. Whatever evil he did, it was because of Dark Specter's power in him. You can't hold him responsible for that, not when, in control of himself, he would come here and give his life for others."

"Unless this was some trick to convince us he's changed so that we let him live."

Tommy couldn't believe how Andros was acting. The Andros of his world was sometimes stubborn, but he was a reasonable man. He would consider the possibilities and he would look for a way that didn't involve death. Apart from appearances, it was hard to believe the two were the same person.

"He could have stayed in my world," Tommy said. "He could have taken over me life and been safe and free and considered a hero. He didn't. He decided he couldn't let me die in his place. That's not the act of an evil man."

"You're just biased because he's in some way yourself."

"And you're not biased?" Tommy demanded. Andros hesitated for a moment.

"Look," Tommy went on, "good people can do terrible things when under the influence of evil. Karone nearly destroyed my world but that didn't stop her going on to be a great Pink Ranger. You would be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, why not give it to the prince?"

Andros hesitated. He continued to hesitate. He stared at the ground, a strange sadness on his expression.

"Is it true then?" he asked at last.

"Is what true?"

"That my sister is Astronema."

"Yes. She was stolen as a child, lied to and convinced that the Power Rangers destroyed her family. In my world, you found this out years ago and saved her."

Andros thought again for a while before he spoke.

"Even if I let the prince live, other people won't be so willing to forgive. He's hurt so many people so badly. At least with me, his death will be quick and humane."

"You're forgetting; there's another option. He can come back to my world. If he's truly good again, he will have a chance for a new life where no one knows what he's done. If he's still evil, I'll finish him myself."

"And what will I tell people when they start demanding his blood?"

"Tell them he was completely destroyed by Dark Specter."

"This is a moot point anyway," said Andros. "We can't find him. The chances are that he really has been destroyed."

And there died Tommy's hopes that Andros had already recaptured the prince and been keeping it from the rest of them.

"Just think about it," Tommy said. "Now, I should get the rest of my people home."

Andros nodded. "Thank you for your help. I'm sorry I didn't listen."

"Apology accepted. I can sort of understand why you wouldn't."

They shook hands and then Tommy wandered back to the others. With the exception of Zack, they were all ready to go. A beeping came from his wrist.

"Go," he answered it.

"Tommy, you should get back here," said Hayley's voice.

"What's the hurry?"

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Jason sat on a boulder and worried. Around him, the other world's Rangers had finished discussing the battle and had moved on to talking about what they'd all been up to recently. Jason tried to follow the conversation just to distract himself, but his thoughts always returned to Tommy. Still, he was grateful no one was trying to cheer him up.

He was definitely not in a mood to be cheered.

More people came over to join their group. Jason saw Kira and Ethan, walking slowly between them was Zack, but at least he was able to walk. A gaping hole in his t-shirt showed a lot of white bandages.

"What were you thinking?" demanded Kim, hugging him somewhat tentatively.

"I was thinking I'd get a cool scar," Zack answered, taking a seat on the boulder next to Jason. "Chicks love scars." Trini hurried to him and squeezed his shoulder. Billy and the other Jason came with her. Billy gave a reassuring smile while their Jason grasped Zack's hand in a complicated hand-shake. Jason recognised all the things that weren't being said. This group of Rangers had been worried almost as much as Jason now worried about Tommy. They all knew it, but no words could really sum up all of what they felt.

"Yeah, but if you tell anyone how you got it, they'll think you're crazy," said Trini.

"Oh, I've worked it all out," said Zack. "I'll say I rescued someone's kitten from a burning house. That's bound to get me some action."

"Ahem. There are minors present." The Black Dino Ranger had returned.

"Oh please. They already know this stuff," said Zack. Connor smirked.

"We're leaving," said Tommy. "Hayley's going to teleport us back to the Command Centre, and then we'll head back through to our world." He looked at Jason, "You should come with us. You'll be safe there."

"No," Jason said. "I'm not going anywhere until I know what happened to my Tommy."

"Let me rephrase that. You want to come with us."

Jason frowned, puzzled. Tommy knew something. He knew something important that he didn't want to say out here where there was no way to be certain they wouldn't be overheard by all the rebels wandering around. That could only mean one thing.

"Aw," said Dustin. "Do we have to go now? I wanted to say goodbye to me."

"Yeah," agreed Kira. "I should say something to Maddy and Tori before we leave. I'm guessing we're not going to be coming back."

"Alright," said Tommy. "Those of you who have farewells to say can stay a little longer. Everyone else, prepare to teleport." He raised his wrist to his helmet. "Hayley, you got that?"

"Yeah, I got that. Stand by."

Jason felt the teleportation light come up around him.


	45. Chapter 44

**Chapter Forty-Four **

Kira felt awkward and out of place. She'd come to say goodbye and now realised that the farewell was even more final than she'd been expecting. She hugged Maddy and even Vida, but Tori was gone. The girl had risked everything for a slim chance to help Kira escape the dark palace, and now she died, so close to their victory. She'd never see the free universe she'd fought so hard to achieve.

But Kira knew she could go home, pick up a phone and talk to Tori alive and well. There was something slightly surreal about the whole situation. She clung to the fact that Tori was still alive somewhere. Maybe, if Hayley was right about infinite universes, there was another world where Tori had come through this battle alive and well.

Tears were in Kira's eyes, but she wasn't really grieving, because she knew her friend wasn't really gone.

She watched as Hunter and Dustin said goodbye to their alternate selves, both pairs making the other promise to take care of their respective partners. It was obvious that even the Dustin of her world was shocked and suffering about Tori's death. It really brought home how fragile they all were and how dangerous their lives could be.

Kira hugged Maddy one last time and they wished each other luck. Then Kira signalled for Hayley to teleport them. She didn't want to stay here for any longer than necessary. Back home, this would all seemed somewhat dream-like. She could distance herself from the pain.

She needed that distance. Anything else just hurt too much.

There were still quite a few people in the Command Centre, taking their turn to step through the portal. Kira looked round but there was no sign of either Jason. Had Dr O managed to persuade this world's version to come with them? She hoped so. He was a decent guy and there was no way he'd be accepted here.

Kira waited her turn and then stepped through the rushing lights and emerged in the lab, crowded with people.

She looked round and, sure enough, spotted the other world's Jason by the main computer talking to Dr O... and to the prince.

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Tommy felt weak and empty. The Power was completely gone. It had taken everything he had to destroy Dark Specter. The Dragonzord coin was drained and useless, and he was certain that the last trace of the Gem's power was also gone.

He'd been a Ranger for so many years that he'd forgotten what it felt like to be normal. The cosmic strength was gone, leaving only a frail human form. He would adapt, he knew, but right now he felt like a part of himself had been torn out, leaving a gaping wound in his soul.

There were days he'd wanted this. When he saw the pain he cause those he cared about, he'd wanted to surrender the power, so that he could be who he had been. Now, he felt the emptiness and knew he'd never stop craving the strength the coin had given him.

A small part of him almost wished he'd died fighting Dark Specter. He'd expected to die. He remembered the explosion and the sensation of falling, then darkness. He'd woken up in the Command Centre and knew that someone must have teleported him to safety before the fall could kill him. His first thought was that the someone must have been Hayley, but he wasn't so sure now. He'd seen the look on Zack's face and wondered if, just maybe, Zack might have enough forgiveness for him to let him live.

So now Tommy had to live with the memory of all he'd done. He'd been willing to make amends with his death, but now he had the more challenging task of making amends with his life. His alternate self had invited him and Jason make to this world and he'd accepted. Let everyone back home think he'd died. They would be happy. They would have seen justice done.

Tommy sat in the lab. He'd seen this place using his equipment and thought it was the answer he'd been looking for. He'd wanted Jason safe so badly that he'd torn the multiverse open to find a place. And he'd found this world. He'd seen himself good and protective and known this was the perfect place for Jason to live out the rest of his life.

He'd never expected he'd live here too.

He watched the rest of the Rangers stepping from the portal and moving aside to make room for the rest. They were all alive and all, bar one exception, uninjured. It was nice to think that, no matter how messed up his world was, there was another where things went as they should.

"I have contacts with what's left of Operation Lightspeed," the other Tommy was saying, "who would probably be able to get you guys sorted with proof of ID and references for jobs. You could find somewhere quiet and start again."

"I don't know how to thank you," Tommy said.

"Just... have a good life."

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Tommy had spent a long time on the phone, trying to get Captain Mitchell to understand the situation. He'd finally managed it. Apparently a pair of driving licenses would be on their way by special delivery. Tommy decided to wait before going to tell his other-worldly guests.

They were rather busy making up for lost time.

Tommy could easily guess what was going on in his spare bedroom and there was no way in hell he was going to go in there any time soon. The thought was just too disturbing.

Sure, he liked Jason. But that was no reason to think about sleeping with him.

Tommy was immensely glad that things seemed sorted out now, at least in this world. He hoped things were going as well on the other side of the portal, but he didn't want to check. There'd been too much confusion caused by the two worlds meeting already. Best just to let things end here and now.

Still, he couldn't help wondering how Andros was managing. He had a lot of chaotic and leaderless worlds to sort out. Not to mention Karone. He knew now who and where his sister was. Tommy wished him all the luck in all the universes at bringing her back to who she'd been. He'd been through hell and deserved to have something good finally come his way.

Tommy would imagine the happy reunion.

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Jason watched himself and Tommy putting bags into the car they'd got from the second-hand dealership outside of town. Jason had been willing to part with a wad of cash, given that it was really himself who was receiving it. The two from the other world had spent a day shopping for a supplies and now they were leaving.

Neither had said where they were going. Jason rather suspected that they didn't know. They would just drive until they found somewhere that both would be happy staying. The other Tommy had accepted the offer of identities and references from Captain Mitchell. Now, with bags of clothes in the trunk of the car, they were ready to start a new life.

Jason wished them well, but this whole thing was still slightly creepy. He rather hoped he didn't hear from these guys too often. Things just got really, really confusing with them around.

He'd been glad to help and he was more than happy that the other world was well on the way to freedom, but other universes were way more trouble than they were worth. Hayley had already dismantled her machine. Zack had promised to make sure that the one on the other side would also be destroyed.

But Jason hadn't forgotten that there could be a lot more than just the two universes. The other Tommy had managed to create a link without the machine now lying in pieces in the Dino Lab. It was always possible that someone else from that world, or from another, could make contact again.

Still, it was comforting that their world wasn't doing too badly.

Jason shook hands with his other self and the other Tommy, and then the two drove off. Jason stood with Tommy watching until the car was out of sight.

"Do you ever wonder," Tommy asked quietly, "what would have happened if we'd experimented in high school?"

Jason looked across at Tommy. He saw a man he'd give his life for in a heart beat. But that was a long way from what he saw between the other pair. He'd known Tommy for years now, but in all that time he'd never once considered that anything beyond friendship or brotherhood could exist. Yet the attraction that had existed between Hunter and Dustin in one world had appeared in the other under a completely different situation.

Jason and Tommy's eyes met and both men started laughing at the same moment.

Whatever may happen in other worlds, it wasn't about to happen here.

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"There's one thing that's still annoying me," said Kira.

"What's that?" asked Ethan. The two were at school. Two days had passed since they'd returned and it was amazing how quickly everything reverted to what, for them, counted as normal. It was almost as though this whole business with the other world hadn't really happened. The copies of Jason and Dr O had gone their own way, leaving the team in Reefside exactly as they had been before all this mess had started.

Almost the same, anyway. Kira still had nightmares about being tortured by the prince, or about seeing Tori's body after the battle. Some things were going to linger for a long time. But in a strange way, she was glad. She didn't want to forget about Tori any time soon.

Still, she was doing her best to distract herself with friends and school work. Yet her thoughts kept returning to all she'd experienced in the other world.

"Mercer's base in the other world," Kira said. "It looked so much like Mesagog's island." She'd mentioned it a few times and she knew that Dr O had noticed the same thing. He appeared puzzled by it as well. Trent, who'd spent more time in Mesagog's island than anyone else, was always strangely silent when Kira brought it up.

"Well, we know Mesagog stole technology from Mercer and Dr O. Maybe he stole interior design tips as well."

Kira grinned a little at Ethan's joke, but the fact still gnawed at her slightly. There had been so many similarities between the two worlds that she couldn't help but wonder why Mesagog hadn't even made an appearance. All the other monsters had shown up in both worlds.

Whatever the reason, they couldn't discuss it further, because Devon and Cassidy were approaching.

"Hey, Ethan," said Devin. "I've got a new set of cards, want to play?" He waved a plastic packet of trading cards.

"Dragon Wars?" asked Kira. "Isn't that a kids' game?"

**The End**


	46. Announcement

A new science fiction thriller is coming out this month.

Child of the Hive


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